Growth factor
Growth factor is any of about twenty small
proteins that attach to specific receptors on the surface of stem cells in
bone marrow and promote differentiation and maturation of these cells
into morphotic constituents of
blood.
The most important growth factors are :
- granuclocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)
- granuclocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)
- erythropoietin (EPO)
For the last two decades growth factors have been increasingly used in
treatment of
hematologic and
oncologic diseases
like :