| abstract |
Provided are ligand isoforms, including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) isoforms containing an intron coding portion, and pharmaceutical compositions containing the HGF isoforms. HGF ligand isoforms and compositions containing them can be used in methods of treating diseases such as cancer and other angiogenic diseases. The isoforms of the present invention are isolated HGF polypeptide isoforms containing all or part of the K4 domain of the HGF ligand. A portion is sufficient to confer the activity exhibited by the K4 domain, or contains at least 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or more amino acids derived therefrom. Included in these are HGF isoform polypeptides that are intron fusion proteins. An isolated HGF polypeptide isoform can also include all or part of a SerP domain. |