Nerve growth factor (
NGF) is a
neuropeptide primarily involved in the regulation of growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of certain target
neurons. It is perhaps the prototypical
growth factor, in that it was one of the first to be described. Since it was first isolated by Nobel Laureate
Rita Levi-Montalcini in 1956, numerous biological processes involving NGF have been identified, two of them being the survival of
pancreatic beta cells and the regulation of the
immune system.