Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) make up
a large family of polypeptide growth factors that are
found in organisms ranging from nematodes to
humans. In vertebrates, the 22 members of the FGF
family range in molecular mass from 17 to 34 kDa
and share 13-71% amino acid identity. During
embryonic development, FGFs have diverse roles in
regulating cell proliferation, migration and
differentiation(Ornitz and Itoh, 2001). The use of
fibroblast cell from mouse embryos as co-culture,
to secrete FGFs, may benefit to the embryonic
development.