Nerve growth factor (NGF), as the name says, is an essential peptide factor for the growth and differentiation of neuronal cells.
Therefore we can imagine that this growth factor is important for the nervous system including brain. But a recent scientific report published in the October 7 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology tells us another surprising and exciting discovery about this growth factor: NGF is positively related with liver cancer, the No.2 killer among all kinds of cancers in the world.
This research was collaboration among scientists from National Research Council of Italy, Marino Hospital in Rome, Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome, and University of Rome. This fruitful collaboration was under the leadership of Dr Annalucia Serafino, a talented biologist who has made her well-recognized reputation in cancer research and hepatitis C virus research. She is holding a senior researcher position in the national research council in Rome, which plays a similar role as the National Institutes of Health in the United States.