Sh-Oligopeptide-1 (EGF)
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an important role in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation and differentiation.  Human EGF is a 6045 Da protein with 53 amino acid residues and three intramolecular disulfide bonds.  EGF acts by binding with high affinity to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the cell surface and stimulating the intrinsic protein-tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor.  The tyrosine kinase activity in turn initiates a signal transduction cascade which results in a variety of biochemical changes within the cell – a rise in intracellular calcium levels, increased glycolysis and protein synthesis, and increases in the expression of certain genes including the gene for EGFR – that ultimately lead to DNA synthesis and cell proliferation.