Nerve-growth-factor

Nerve-growth-factor

Noun (scientific/technical) · /nɜːv ɡrəʊθ ˈfæk.tər/

Definition

A protein (NGF) that promotes the growth, maintenance, survival, and differentiation of neurons, particularly in the sympathetic and sensory nervous systems; the first identified neurotrophin; crucial for the development and survival of peripheral and central nervous system neurones.

Origin

Compound: nerve (from Latin nervus) + growth (Old English grōwan: to grow) + factor (from Latin factor: a maker or doer, from facere: to make or do). The protein itself being discovered by Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen in the early 1950s, for which they shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. NGF being the first member of the neurotrophin family to be identified and characterised. The factor terminology in biochemistry specifically meaning a protein that is required for a particular biological process.