GUT HORMONES, GROWTH AND MALIGNANCY

Abstract

There is now clear-cut evidence that polypeptide growth factors control the proliferation of the normal gastrointestinal mucosa. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates normal growth throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and accelerates the healing of ulcerated epithelium. While the effects of gastrin were at first thought to be similarly widespread, the gastrin target now appears to be restricted to the enterochromaffin-like cells in the stomach. Isolated reports suggest that several other hormones, including fibroblast growth factor and the insulin-like growth factors, have similar proliferative effects. In contrast, indirect evidence suggests that somatostatin and transforming growth fa..