The somatomedins, or insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), comprise a family of peptides that play important roles in mammalian growth and development. IGF1 mediates many of the growth-promoting effects of growth hormone (GH, MIM 139250). Early studies showed that growth hormone did not directly stimulate the incorporation of sulfate into cartilage, but rather acted through a serum factor, termed sulfation factor, which later became known as somatomedin (Daughaday et al., 1972). Three main somatomedins have been characterized: somatomedin C (IGF1), somatomedin A (IGF2, MIM 147470), and somatomedin B (MIM 193190). IGF-I Des(1-3) Human Recombinant produced in E.Coli is a single, non-glycosylated, polypeptide chain containing 67 amino acids (aa 4-70).
