Studies have focused on the investigation of the biological activities of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF). Consistent with earlier observations involving the seminal vesicle. this work has demonstrated that KGF is an androgen- dependent prostate development. Similarly, in follow-up to experiments performed with the rhesus monkey, studies have documented that KGF is induced by progesterone in the murine uterus where it may participate in female reproductive physiology. In situ hybridization analysis with probes for KGF and the KGF receptor detected expression of these molecules in dozens of tissues during development. Evidence that HGF/SF may stimulate the proliferation in vitro of insulin-producing cells from human pancreas is one of the highlights of work with this factor. In a new project area, a protein structurally related to frizzled, a tissue polarity gene identified in Drosophila, was purified and molecularly cloned. Work is in progress to generate ample pattern of expression of this novel molecule during development and in neoplasia.
