The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities, and are involved in a variety of biological processes, including embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth, and invasion. This growth factor lacks the N-terminal signal sequence present in most of the FGF family members, but it contains clusters of basic residues that have been demonstrated to act as a nuclear localization signal. When transfected into mammalian cells, this protein accumulated in the nucleus, but was not secreted. The specific function of this gene has not yet been determined. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2019]
Forensic Context
A study in human traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients demonstrated that FGF12 (Fibroblast growth factor 12) mRNA was identified as a differentially expressed biomarker, forming part of a positively correlated lncRNA-mRNA pair in a co-expression network and appearing within the MAPK signaling pathway [Yang et al. DOI:10.4103/1673-5374.247467]. A study in rats demonstrated that blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury primarily involves vascular injury, with mRNA expression analysis revealing blast intensity- and time-dependent changes in vascular wound healing markers, including upregulation of fibroblast proliferation factors like Fgf1, Fgf2, and Fgfr3 after higher magnitude exposures [Balaban et al. DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2016.02.001].