The Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) gene encodes a transmembrane cytokine receptor, which comprises an extracellular region of three immunoglobulin-like domains (D1, D2 and D3), a transmembrane helix and a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase domain. Although different isoforms have different tissue expression and varied affinity to FGFs, FGFR1-IIIc, spliced through the use of exon 8B, is the predominant isoform that carries out most of the functions of the FGFR1 gene.The downstream signaling of FGFR1 is activated by the dimerization and activation of the receptor and autophosphorylation of the tyrosine kinase domains. These downstream signaling pathways include the mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK), the phosphatidylinositide 3 kinase/AKT (PI3K/AKT) and the phospholipase C γ (PLC). FGFR1-related signaling pathways are involved in the early development of the human embryo, and thus play an important role in gastrulation, organ specification and patterning of many tissues.