Hepatocyte Growth Factor/HGF/Hepatopoietin-A

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is a paracrine cellular growth, motility and morphogenic factor. It belongs to the peptidase S1 family and Plasminogen subfamily, contains 4 kringle domains, 1 PAN domain and 1 peptidase S1 domain. HGF regulates cell growth, cell motility, and morphogenesis by activating a tyrosine kinase signaling cascade after binding to the proto-oncogenic c-Met receptor. HGF is secreted by mesenchymal cells and acts as a multi-functional cytokine on cells of mainly epithelial origin. Its ability to stimulate mitogenesis, cell motility, and matrix invasion gives it a central role in angiogenesis, tumorogenesis, and tissue regeneration.