HGF stands for hepatocyte growth factor. Despite the name, its role reaches far beyond the liver: it is a signalling protein that governs the movement, survival and division of many cell types through a single receptor. Here is what the molecule is, what the literature says about it, and the status in which it ships.

What HGF is, briefly

HGF is a secreted protein, a two-chain α/β heterodimer. It is not a peptide but a full-size growth factor, and it acts through the c-Met (MET) receptor. The full mechanistic breakdown of c-Met signalling lives in the HGF monograph; here is the gist and where the interest came from.

How it was discovered

The molecule was cloned in the late 1980s: a 1989 paper described the molecular cloning and expression of human hepatocyte growth factor (Nature, 1989). Two years later its receptor was identified: the HGF receptor turned out to be the product of the c-met proto-oncogene (Science, 1991). That pair, ligand and receptor, became the centre of all later work.

A review by one of the original discoverers later summed up the significance of HGF for regenerative medicine and why a single molecule combines so many functions (Proc. Jpn. Acad., 2010).

Why HGF interests researchers

Through c-Met, HGF triggers what is called invasive growth: cells begin to move, survive stress and divide. In physiology this underlies tissue repair after injury. The same pathway in pathology is involved in tumour growth, which is why c-Met is also an oncology target. For a researcher HGF is a convenient tool to study regeneration, cell migration and receptor tyrosine kinase signalling under controlled conditions.

Research status

Longeva material is research use only. It is not a medicine or a supplement but a reagent for laboratory use. HGF has no approved indications in this format; the data above concern basic and clinical-research work, not a ready treatment, and are not a basis for self-administration.

See also: human research results for HGF and why phase 3 failed.

Lots come with a certificate of analysis from an independent third-party laboratory; you can look up a COA (certificate of analysis) by lot number in the open archive. For presentation and specifications, see the HGF catalogue page.