成纤维细胞生长因子18(FGF18)的研究进展

The Development of the Study on Fibroblast Growth Factor 18

成纤维细胞生长因子18(fibroblast growth factor 18,FGF18)是成纤维细胞生长因子家族(FGFs)的成员之一。研究发现,FGF18不仅在骨骼发育和生长期对软骨形成和成骨生成起着重要的作用,其功能也已延伸至其他许多生物过程,尽管对FGF18作为一个有用治疗靶点发挥作用的功能和机制仍有待进一步的发现及研究。现针对FGF18的特点,及其在骨骼发育中的功能,特别其在未来具有潜在应用领域上的研究进展进行综述。

FGF18 （fibroblast growth factor18, FGF18） is one of the fibroblast growth factor （FGFs） family members. Current evidence suggests that FGF18 may play a prominent role in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during skeletal development and growth. However, its function extends to many other biological processes. Although there remains much to be discovered and investigated on the functions and mechanisms of FGF18, it may play a role as a useful therapeutic target for various applications. The following review summarizes the current knowledge on FGF18 with special emphasis on its skeletal functions and highlights its potential areas for future research.