Division of Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Research, Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
J Clin Rheumatol. 2012 Aug;18(5):268-72. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0b013e318262232c.
As is so often the case, a molecule gets named for its first identified activity or apparent role and then that initial name sticks, even as new and perhaps fundamentally different activities emerge from later studies. It is the special power of evolution that takes a certain activity and then uses it over and over again in pursuit of apparently disparate goals in a maturing or mature organism. In general terms, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is intimately involved in a variety of differentiation and growth inhibition processes, in apoptosis, and in deposition of the extracellular matrix. Initially identified in its role in oncogenesis, TGF-β is now implicated in a number of vascular and rheumatologic disorders, perhaps most notably the scleroderma. TGF-β has been identified as a powerful influence in angiogenesis, wound healing, joint inflammation, tumor growth and metastasis, and, of course, immunoregulation. So "what is in a name?" A rose by any other name would smell as sweet and would still be immunologically active, even if the name is "misleading."
情况通常是这样的，一个分子因其首次被识别的活性或明显作用而被命名，然后即使后来的研究出现了新的、可能具有根本不同的活性，最初的名称仍然保留。进化的特殊之处在于，它会选择某种特定的活性，然后在成熟或成熟的生物体中，一次又一次地利用这种活性来追求明显不同的目标。一般来说，转化生长因子 β（TGF-β）与多种分化和生长抑制过程、细胞凋亡以及细胞外基质的沉积密切相关。最初在致癌作用中被鉴定出来的 TGF-β，现在与多种血管和风湿性疾病有关，尤其是硬皮病。TGF-β 已被确定为血管生成、伤口愈合、关节炎症、肿瘤生长和转移以及免疫调节的重要影响因素。因此，“名字有什么意义？” 一朵玫瑰换个名字也会很香，仍然具有免疫活性，即使名字是“误导性的”。
