Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Evidence has suggested that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) and its ligands are important regulators for development and maintenance of various tissues including the nerve system. Gene knockout, transgenic or other in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that these molecules, produced by neurons and glial cells, play important roles in regulating neural/glial precursor cell or stem cell proliferation, migration, differentiation and survival, in maintaining tissue homeostasis, and in regulating CNS gliosis and peripheral nerve injury responses. These studies have revealed that, despite a possible functional redundancy among the individual EGF family ligands, collectively EGF-R ligands are required for development and maintenance of the nerve system.