Patent ID: 8119783

Claim:
A polynucleotide encoding a variant of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) that has at least one amino acid substitution in the beta 8-beta 9 loop, and at least one of the following attributes compared to the corresponding wild type FGF-2: enhanced specificity for one receptor subtype; increased biological activity mediated by at least one receptor subtype with equivalent or reduced activity mediated through another receptor subtype; enhanced affinity to at least one receptor subtype; or increased cell proliferation mediated through one receptor subtype, wherein the polynucleotide comprises the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 18, wherein the codon encoding asparagine at positions 331-333 is replaced by a codon encoding an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of: glycine, arginine, valine, glutamic acid, and serine.