Int. J. Dev. Biol. 45: S107 - S108 (2001)

Vol 45, Issue S1

Engineering recombinant growth factors: a tool for in vitro mesenchymal cell commitment

Published: 1 June 2001

J Becerra, M Cifuentes, P Arrabal, JA Santamaria, JA Andrades

Univ Malaga, Fac Sci, Dept Cell Biol & Genet, E-29071 Malaga, Spain

Abstract

Growth factors (GFs) are part of a large number of polypeptides that transmit signals affecting cellular activities. Cells may communicate with each other through direct molecular interactions involving their cell membranes, as a result of the movement of certain molecules as GFs. They are produced by the cells and can act within the cell or in vicinal or remote cells to modulate their activities by reacting with specific receptors th rough either autocrine, paracrine, endocrine, juxtacrine, intracrine or extracellular matrix mediated. In the last recent years, our group have been working on genetically engineering GFs which incorporate a collagen-binding domain derived from the von Willebrand Factor (vWF). These fused proteins exhibit functional properties that do not exist in nature and have allow us to investigate their potential important implications in terms of developing strategic biomatrices for tissue repair.

Keywords

Bone, fusion