This gene encodes a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. Member of the FGF family 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 protein is expressed during embryogenesis and in the adult cerebellum and cortex and may be essential for vascular growth and normal brain development. Mutations in this gene are the cause of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism 20 with or without anosmia. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2015],