Fibroblast Growth Factors

FGF Structure: All FGFs contain a core region which contains conserved amino acid residues and conserved structural motifs. Click on the image at left for information and graphics.

FGF Family Data: data regarding amino acid sequence identity between mouse and human FGFRs; amino acid sequence identity between mouse and human FGFs#; and relative mitogenic activity of FGFs 1-9. Click the image at left to learn more.

FGFR Mutations: mutations in the FGF receptor genes in human skeletal diseases. Click on the image at right for the full graphic and explanatory caption; also see Naski, M. C. and D. M. Ornitz (1998). FGF signaling in skeletal development. Front. Biosci. 3: D781-94 for additional discussion on this topic.

Alternative Splicing: alternative splicing is tissue-specific and regulates ligand binding specificity. Click on the image at left from the Ornitz lab review, Yu, K., and Ornitz, D. M. (2001). Uncoupling FGF receptor 2 activation and ligand binding specificity: Multiple paths to Apert syndrome-like phenotypes., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U S A, in press.

FGFR: "Reverse transcription coupled with polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a common technique utilized by many labs to determine gene expression both in vitro and in vivo. Although this technique affords the user with both specificity and sensitivity, analysis of genes belonging to multigene families such as the fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) can be troublesome..." (McEwen and Ornitz).Click the image at right for the full text.

FGF Family Tree, 2001: Evolutionary relationships within the FGF family. More information is available by clicking on the image at left , and also in the recent article Ornitz, D. M. and Itoh, N. (2001). Fibroblast growth factors. Genome Biology, 3005.1-3005.12.