EPIDERMAL GROWTH-FACTOR, TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-ALPHA, AND THEIR COMMON RECEPTOR - THEIR POTENTIAL RELEVANCE IN NORMAL HUMAN ENDOMETRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PREGNANCY

Since the serendipitous discovery of epidermal growth factor (EGF) by Dr. Stanley Cohen in 1961,(1) the literature on epidermal growth facto r and a rapidly growing number of other growth factors and their recep tors continues to increase at a tremendous pace. With the identificati on of the epidermal growth factor receptor and later the homology betw een epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF- alpha), this growth factor/receptor system has received a great deal o f attention from students of biology. The purpose of this review is to describe the current state of knowledge regarding the role of EGF, TG F-alpha, and their common receptor (EGF-R) in the physiology of normal , nonneoplastic human endometrium. Specifically, it will review the bi ochemistry of the growth factor/receptor system, describe the current evidence that implicates this system in the autocrine/paracrine/juxtac rine physiology of the endometrium, decidua, and trophoblast, and fina lly summarize the available evidence regarding the physiological funct ions of this system in endometrial development and implantation.