Secreted signal that acts globally to regulate anterior/posterior axial patterning during development. May play critical roles in patterning both mesodermal and neural tissues. It is required for proper vertebral patterning and orofacial development. Signals through activin receptors type-2, ACVR2A and ACVR2B, and activin receptors type-1, ACVR1B, ACVR1C and TGFBR1 leading to the phosphorylation of SMAD2 and SMAD3. GDF11 Protein, Human, Recombinant (His & SUMO) is expressed in E. coli expression system with N-6xHis-SUMO tag. The predicted molecular weight is 28.5 kDa and the accession number is O95390.

Growth/differentiation factor 11(GDF-11) is a secreted protein, which belongs to the transforming growth factor beta superfamily. GDF-11 controls anterior-posterior patterning by regulating the expression of Hox genes. The secreted signal acts globally to specify positional identity along the anterior/posterior axis during development. GDF11 has been shown to suppress neurogenesis through a pathway similar to that of myostatin, including stopping the progenitor cell-cycle during G-phase. The similarities between GDF11 and myostatin imply a likelihood that the same regulatory mechanisms are used to control tissue size during both muscular and neural development.