Stem cell factor

Stem cell factor (SCF), otherwise known as KIT ligand or Steel factor ,is a cytokine which binds CD117 (c-Kit). SCF is also known as "steel factor" or "c-kit ligand". SCF exists in two forms, cell surface bound SCF and soluble (or free) SCF. Soluble SCF is produced by the cleavage of surface bound SCF by metalloproteases.

SCF is a growth factor important for the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and other hematopoietic progenitor cells. One of its roles is to change the BFU-E(burst-forming unit-erythroid) cells, which are the earliest erythrocyte precursors in the erythrocytic series, into the CFU-E (colony-forming unit-erythroid). SCF, along with bFGF (basic fibroblast growth factor) and LIF (lymphocyte inhibitory factor), prevents spontaneous differentiation of primitive embryonic stem cells in cell culture.

Ancestim is a recombinant form of SCF.