Fibroblast Growth Factor-18 (FGF-18) is a heparin-binding growth factor that is a member of the FGF family. FGF-18 signals through FGFR 1c, 2c, 3c, and 4. FGF-18 plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, cell differentiation and cell migration. FGF-18 is required for normal ossification and bone development. It can also stimulate hepatic and intestinal proliferation.
Recombinant human Fibroblast Growth Factor-18 (rhFGF-18) produced in E. coli is a single non-glycosylated polypeptide chain containing 174 amino acids. A fully biologically active molecule, rhFGF-18 has a molecular mass of 20.3 kDa analyzed by reducing SDS-PAGE and is obtained by proprietary chromatographic techniques at GenScript.