Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 (FGF-9) is a heparin binding growth factor that belongs to the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities, and are involved in a variety of biological processes, including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth and invasion. FGF-9 was isolated as a secreted factor that exhibits a growth-stimulating effect on cultured glial cells. In nervous system, this protein is produced mainly by neurons and may be important for glial cell development.
Recombinant Human Fibroblast Growth Factor-9(rhFGF-9) produced in E. coli is a single non-glycosylated polypeptide chain containing 208 amino acids. A fully biologically active molecule, rhFGF-9 has a molecular mass of 23.4 kDa analyzed by reducing SDS-PAGE and is obtained by proprietary chromatographic techniques at ExCell Bio.