NGF, or nerve growth factor, is a growth factor that signals through trka and is described here as a tumor-derived factor that can amplify CD8+ T cell exhaustion via TRKA engagement. It also appears in regenerative contexts, where a hydrogel up-regulates NGF in BMSCs to stimulate axonal outgrowth and activate DRG neurons, linking it to neuro-osteogenic microenvironment remodeling. In disease association studies, NGF is highlighted as a highly prevalent factor in osteoarthritis research and is strongly associated with neural regulation in that setting. Overall, the entry connects NGF to immune suppression in cancer, neural repair/axon growth, and osteoarthritis-related neurobiology, with the key mechanistic detail being TRKA-mediated signaling.
Cancer
- A 2026 Molecular Biomedicine study on neural invasion-positive gastric cancer showed that tumor-derived NGF further amplifies CD8+ T cell exhaustion through trka engagement, and targeting the ANXA1/TRKA axis improved immunotherapy sensitivity (PMID:41954859).
- The same study places NGF in an immunotherapy-resistance context, where TRKA-linked signaling contributes to a more exhausted CD8+ T cell state (PMID:41954859).
Regenerative medicine / Bone-neural microenvironment
- A 2026 Journal of Nanobiotechnology study reported that a multifunctional ions/drugs co-delivering nanocomposite hydrogel increased NGF expression in BMSCs, promoting axonal outgrowth and activation of DRG neurons (PMID:41981450).
- This hydrogel-driven NGF induction was part of a neuro-osteogenic microenvironment strategy aimed at boosting osteoporotic osseointegration (PMID:41981450).
Osteoarthritis
- A 2026 Journal of Orthopaedics bibliometric analysis identified NGF as a highly prevalent growth factor in osteoarthritis research, emphasizing its role in neural regulation (PMID:41890882).
- The osteoarthritis literature mapping suggests NGF is a recurring topic in growth factor studies rather than a single-disease biomarker (PMID:41890882).