該基因編碼的蛋白是成纖維細胞生長因子（fgf）家族的一員。fgf家族成員具有廣泛的有絲分裂和細胞存活活性，參與胚胎發育、細胞生長、形態發生、組織修復、腫瘤生長和侵襲等多種生物學過程。這種生長因子是一種高親和力的、肝素依賴的fgfr4配體。該基因只在胎兒腦組織中表達，在成人腦組織中不表達。雞胚同源物與wnt-8c的協同作用是內耳發育啟動的必要條件。[由RefSeq提供，2008年7月]
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. FGF family members possess broad mitogenic and cell survival activities, and are involved in a variety of biological processes including embryonic development cell growth, morphogenesis, tissue repair, tumor growth and invasion. This growth factor is a high affinity, heparin dependent ligand for FGFR4. Expression of this gene was detected only in fetal but not adult brain tissue. Synergistic interaction of the chick homolog and Wnt-8c has been shown to be required for initiation of inner ear development. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]