EGFL7

Epidermal growth factor-like protein 7 (EGFL7), also known as NEU1 or ZNEU1, is a secreted endothelial cell protein. The encoded protein has 273 amino acids with the molecular weight of 29 kDa. The structure of EGFL7 contains a putative cleavable signal peptide at N-terminal, an EMI domain, two EGF-like domains and a leucine and valine rich C-terminal region. EGFL7 has been revealed to play a role in the regulating vasculogenesis and the growth and proliferation of tumor cells. Moreover, the in vitro study also reported that EGFL7 suppresses smooth muscle cell migration induced by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB and facilitates the adhesion of endothelial cell to the extracellular matrix. These suggest the role of EGFL7 in the progression of tumor. And the higher levels of EGFL7 protein are detected in patients with acute myeloid leukemia compared with normal people.
EGFL7 is widely expressed in many human tissues including placenta, fat, lung, and spleen. Because of its role in pathological processes of tumor, EGFL7 can be regarded as a prognostic marker of tumor. EGFL7 has been indicated as a prognostic marker of acute myeloid leukemia and the high EGFL7 mRNA is linked to the lower complete remission rates, and shorter event-free and overall survival in patients with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia.
Entrez Gene ID: 51162
UniProt ID: Q9UHF1