WHAT ARE CYTOKINES? ARE THEY THE SAME AS GROWTH FACTORS?Updated 6 months ago
Cytokines are small, secreted proteins released by cells have a specific effect on the interactions and communications between cells.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2785020/
The term growth factor is sometimes used interchangeably with the term cytokine. Whereas growth factor implies a positive effect on cell division, cytokine is a neutral term with respect to whether a molecule affects proliferation.
In this sense, some cytokines can be growth factors, such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
However, some cytokines have an inhibitory effect on cell growth or proliferation. Yet others, such as the Fas ligand, are used as “death” signals; they cause target cells to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis.