Nerve growth factor cellular role

CDF/LIF, identified only relatively recently, has become one of the most extensively studied cytokines and turned out to play a remarkable varietyof roles in living organisms. Recent advances in molecular and cellular biological studies of CDF/LIF reveal that this factor has at least three important specific functions in vivo. First, it is essential for blastocyst implantation. Second, it is required for self-renewal of a group of myeloid stem cells. Third, it probably functions as a repair factor following nerve injury and in some host defence systems. It remains, however, unknown in what manner CDF/LIF, as a member of the EL-6 family, interacts with other cytokines and growth factors to fulfil these and other complex physiological functions. 

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