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Molecular cloning and expression of human hepatocyte growth factor

Nature volume 342, pages 440–443 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

HEPATOCYTE growth factor (HGF) is the most potent mitogen for mature parenchyma! hepatocytes in primary culture, and seems to be a hepatotrophic factor that acts as a trigger for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and liver injury. The partial purification and characterization of HGF have been reported1–4. We have demonstrated that pure HGF from rat platelets is a new growth factor5, 6 effective at concentrations as low as 1 ng mP−1.The effects of HGF and epidermal growth factor (EGF) are additive. The activity of HGF is not species-specific, although it does not stimulate growth in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts5. HGF has a relative molecular mass (Mr) of 82,000 and is a heterodimer composed of a large a-subunit of Mr 69,000 and a small β -subunit of Mr34,000 (ref. 6). Here we report the amino-acid sequence of human HGF determined by complementary DNA cloning and the expression of biologically active human HGF from COS-1 cells transfected with cloned cDNA. The nucleotide sequence of the human HGF cDNA reveals that both α- andβ-chains are contained in a single open reading frame coding for a pre-pro precursor protein of 728 amino acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812, Japan

    Toshikazu Nakamura & Kosuke Tashiro

  2. Pharmaceuticals Research Center, Toyobo Co. Ltd, Ohtsu, 520-02, Japan

    Tsutomu Nishizawa, Mitchio Hagiya, Tatsuya Seki, Manabu Shimonishi, Atsushi Sugimura & Shin Shimizu

Authors
  1. Toshikazu Nakamura
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  2. Tsutomu Nishizawa
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  3. Mitchio Hagiya
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  4. Tatsuya Seki
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  5. Manabu Shimonishi
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  6. Atsushi Sugimura
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  7. Kosuke Tashiro
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  8. Shin Shimizu
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Nakamura, T., Nishizawa, T., Hagiya, M. et al. Molecular cloning and expression of human hepatocyte growth factor. Nature 342, 440–443 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342440a0

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