Igf1 - insulin-like growth factor 1

This gene encodes a member of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family of proteins that promote growth and development during fetal and postnatal life. This gene is predominantly expressed in the liver and the encoded protein undergoes proteolytic processing to generate a disulfide-linked mature polypeptide. Transgenic disruption of this gene in mice results in reduced postnatal survival and severe growth retardation. Mice lacking the encoded protein exhibit generalized organ hypoplasia including underdevelopment of the central nervous system and developmental defects in bone, muscle and reproductive systems. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms that may undergo similar processing to generate mature protein. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2015]