Background：

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities， and are involved in a variety of biological processes， including embryonic development， cell growth， morphogenesis， tissue repair， tumor growth and invasion. This protein functions as a modifier of endothelial cell migration and proliferation， as well as an angiogenic factor. It acts as a mitogen for a variety of mesoderm- and neuroectoderm-derived cells in vitro， thus is thought to be involved in organogenesis. Multiple alternatively spliced variants encoding different isoforms have been described.