Activins and follistatins: Emerging roles in liver physiology and cancer

Figure 1 Number and arrangement of follistatin/Kazal-like domains in follistatin-like proteins. SP: Signal peptide; FS: Follistatin/Kazal-like domain; EF: EF-hand domain; VWFC: von Willebrand factor type C repeat; IGFBP: IGF-binding protein N-terminal domain; Ig: Immunoglobulin-like domain. Text to the right shows the number of amino acids (aa), most common name(s) and Uniprot accession number.

Figure 2 Reported effects of activin A on liver cells and inhibition by activin and follistatin family members. A potential function of the other family members, as agonists or antagonists of hepatic activin signal transduction or as regulators of activin A-independent activities in the liver, remains to be elucidated. ECM: Extracellular matrix; MMP: Matrix metalloproteinase.