Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

Growth factors in lung development and disease: friends or foe?

Published by National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Metadata Last Checked: September 07, 2025 | Last Modified: 2025-09-06
Growth factors mediate tissue interactions and regulate a variety of cellular functions that are critical for normal lung development and homeostasis. Besides their involvement in lung pattern formation, growth and cell differentiation during organogenesis, these factors have been also implicated in modulating injury-repair responses of the adult lung. Altered expression of growth factors, such as transforming growth factor β1, vascular endothelial growth factor and epidermal growth factor, and/or their receptors, has been found in a number of pathological lung conditions. In this paper, we discuss the dual role of these molecules in mediating beneficial feedback responses or responses that can further damage lung integrity; we shall also discuss the basis for their prospective use as therapeutic agents.

Find Related Datasets

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov