growth factor

(noun)

a naturally-occurring substance capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation, and cellular differentiation

Related Terms

  • oncogene
  • receptor

Examples of growth factor in the following topics:

  • Growth Factors

    • A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation and cellular differentiation.
    • A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation and cellular differentiation such as granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a growth factor which stimulates the production of white blood cells.
    • Growth factors are typically cytokines or hormones, but not all cytokines and hormones are growth factors.
    • Confusingly cytokine and growth factor are sometimes used interchangeably.
    • As with cytokines some are involved with growth, such as growth hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland and may be classed as growth factors, but others are not.
  • Bone Remodeling

    • Numerous bone-derived growth factors have been isolated and classified via bone cultures.
    • These factors include insulin-like growth factors I and II, transforming growth factor-beta, fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and bone morphogenetic proteins.
    • Platelet-derived growth factor has been found to enhance bone collagen degredation.
    • Evidence suggests that bone cells produce growth factors for extracellular storage in the bone matrix.
    • Essentially, bone growth factors may act as potential determinants of local bone formation.
  • Cell Signaling and Cell Growth

    • The ligands that promote cell growth are called growth factors.
    • Most growth factors bind to cell-surface receptors that are linked to tyrosine kinases.
    • Signaling pathways control cell growth.
    • Further studies have indicated that 30 percent of cancer cells have a mutation in the RAS gene that leads to uncontrolled growth.
    • If left unchecked, uncontrolled cell division can lead tumor formation and metastasis, the growth of cancer cells in new locations in the body.
  • Hormonal Regulation of Growth

    • Body growth is controlled by growth hormone (GH), produced by the anterior pituitary, and IGF-1, whose production is stimulated by GH.
    • GH also stimulates, through another pathway, the production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a hormone homologous to proinsulin.
    • GH release is stimulated by growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and is inhibited by growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH), also called somatostatin.
    • Oversecretion of growth hormone can lead to gigantism in children, causing excessive growth.
    • Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is activated by growth hormone and also allows formation of new proteins in muscle cells and bone.
  • Exponential Growth and Decay

    • Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of the value of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value.
    • Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of the value of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value.
    • In the long run, exponential growth of any kind will overtake linear growth of any kind as well as any polynomial growth.
    • where the constant $a$ is the initial value of $x$, $x(0) = a$, the constant $b$ is a positive growth factor, and $\tau$ is the time constant—the time required for $x$ to increase by one factor of $b$:
    • This graph illustrates how exponential growth (green) surpasses both linear (red) and cubic (blue) growth.
  • Limitation of Microbial Growth by Nutrient Supply

    • Nutrients are necessary for microbial growth and play a vital role in the proper cultivation of microorganisms in the laboratory and for proper growth in their natural environments.
    • In regard to required nutrients for proper growth, there are often limiting factors involved.
    • The limiting factor or limiting nutrient effects and controls growth.
    • In industrial microbiology this concept is critical, as microbial growth and production is dictated by proper cellular growth and metabolism.
    • Describe the role of nutrients in microbial growth and their culture in the lab
  • Total Factor Productivity

    • Total factor productivity measures the residual growth in total output of a firm, industry, or national economy that cannot be explained by the accumulation of traditional inputs such as labor and capital .
    • Increases in total factor productivity reflect a more efficient use of inputs, and total factor productivity is often taken as a measure of long-term technological change or dynamism brought about by such factors as technical innovation.
    • Total factor productivity cannot be measured directly.
    • It is also generally viewed as one of the main vehicles for driving economic growth.
    • When a country is able to increase its total factor productivity, it can yield higher output with the same resources, and therefore drive economic growth.
  • Valuing Nonconstant Growth Dividends

    • Limited high-growth approximation, implied growth models, and the imputed growth acceleration ratio are used to value nonconstant growth dividends.
    • Note that the models diverge for and hence are extremely sensitive to the difference of dividend growth to discount factor.
    • One can use the Gordon model or the limited high-growth period approximation model to impute an implied growth estimate.
    • (Note: we are using earnings not dividends here because dividend policies vary and may be influenced by many factors including tax treatment).
    • Subsequently, one can divide this imputed growth estimate by recent historical growth rates.
  • Regulation of Sigma Factor Activity

    • Sigma factors are proteins that function in transcription initiation .
    • Often times, sigma factor expression or activity is dependent on specific growth phase transitions of the organism.
    • If transcription of genes involved in growth is necessary, the sigma factors will be translated to allow for transcription initiation to occur.
    • The anti-sigma factors will bind to the RNA polymerase and prevent its binding to sigma factors present at the promoter site.
    • The anti-sigma factors are responsible for regulating inhibition of transcriptional activity in organisms that require sigma factor for proper transcription initiation.
  • Determinants of Long-Run Growth

    • Demographic changes: demographic factors influence economic growth by changing the employment to population ratio.
    • Factors include the quantity and quality of available natural resources.
    • When the economic growth matches the growth of money supply, an economy will continue to grow and thrive.
    • However, when economic growth is not balanced, the result can include inflation and excessive growth.
    • A high rate of population growth will cause less capital per worker, lower productivity, and lower GDP growth.
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