“…Whereas EGF was shown initially to stimulate the proliferation of epithelial cells, it is currently regarded as a potent mitogen for various cell types, such as fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and myoblasts (Gospodarowicz and Mescher 1977;Carpenter and Cohen 1979;Boonstra et al 1995;Riese and Stern 1998). EGF also promotes some developmental processes, which include tooth morphogenesis and eruption, eyelid opening, palate formation, and lung maturation (Cohen 1962;Rihtniemi and Thesleff 1987;Carpenter and Cohen 1990;Fisher and Lakshmanan 1990;Wise et al 1992;Cho and Garant 1996;Shroff et al 1996;Amano et al 1999). Furthermore, there are some reports that EGF enhances DNA synthesis and mitotic activity in chondrocytes and, consequently, facilitates cell proliferation, although it can also inhibit proteoglycan synthesis and cell differentiation (Gospodarowicz and Mescher 1977;Kato et al 1983;Prins et al 1982aPrins et al , 1982bTakigawa et al 1982Takigawa et al , 1991Hiraki et al 1985Hiraki et al , 1987Mercola and Stiles 1988).…”