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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of Adult Cardiac Fibroblasts and Myofibroblasts
Published on: March 12, 2020
X-ray structure and biophysical properties of rabbit fibroblast growth factor 1
Jihun Lee1, Sachiko I Blaber, Andre Irsigler
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, 32306-4300, USA.
Abstract:
The rabbit is an important and de facto animal model in the study of ischemic disease and angiogenic therapy. Additionally, fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) is emerging as one of the most important growth factors for novel proangiogenic and pro-arteriogenic therapy. However, despite its significance, the fundamental biophysical properties of rabbit FGF-1, including its X-ray structure, have never been reported. Here, the cloning, crystallization, X-ray structure and determination of the biophysical properties of rabbit FGF-1 are described. The X-ray structure shows that the amino-acid differences between human and rabbit FGF-1 are solvent-exposed and therefore potentially immunogenic, while the biophysical studies identify differences in thermostability and receptor-binding affinity that distinguish rabbit FGF-1 from human FGF-1.
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