growth factor

noun

1. any of various proteins that promote the growth, organization, and maintenance of cells and tissues.

growth factor

noun

1. any of several substances present in serum that induce growth of cells. Excessive amounts of growth factor may be associated with the production of cancer cells

Example Sentences

Nerve Growth Factor was the first of several growth factors discovered by scientists, and these factors are now known to have critical roles in nervous system wiring and also in cancer.

From Nautilus

In 1986, Levi-Montalcini and Cohen were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of growth factors.

From Nautilus

The pathway in worms is called insulin-like growth factor signaling, and once that pathway is suppressed, both milk production stops and the lifespan extends.

From Popular-Science

Researchers were finding that microbes produced vitamins, nutrients, and growth factors, vital to ecosystems’ health.

From Nautilus

In 1946, she was granted a fellowship at Washington University where she replicated her earlier work, and eventually won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of nerve growth factor.

From Nautilus

The latter may or may not have a sufficiently high growth factor.

From Project Gutenberg

As a group, they possessed a growth factor forcing them beyond the confines of the culture in which they lived.

From Project Gutenberg