IGFL2 polyclonal antibody

The insulin gene family, comprised of insulin, relaxin and insulin-like growth factors I and II (IGF-I and IGF-II), represents a group of structurally related polypeptides whose biological functions have diverged. The IGFs, or somato-medins, constitute a class of polypeptides that have a key role in pre-adolescent mammalian growth. IGF-I and -II are critical regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation. Most of the growth promoting properties of both ligands are mediated by the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR). IGF- I and -II, respectively known as somatomedin C and somatomedin A, are single chain polypeptides which share an amino acid sequence homology of about 47% with insulin. IGF-I expression is regulated by growth hormone and mediates postnatal growth, while IGF-II is induced by placental lactogen during prenatal development. IGF-II is a fetal growth factor, influenced by placental lactogen and abundantly expressed by placental trophoblasts. IGF-II and IGF-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) gene variants are associated with overfeeding-induced metabolic changes. The human IGF-II gene maps to chromosome 11p15.5, encoding a 180 amino acid protein which is the precursor to IGF-II.