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Methods for promoting growth of bone, ligament, or cartilage in a mammal are disclosed. The methods comprise administering to said mammal a composition comprising a pharmacologically effective amount of a zvegf3 protein in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable delivery vehicle. Also disclos

Methods for promoting growth of bone, ligament, or cartilage in a mammal are disclosed. The methods comprise administering to said mammal a composition comprising a pharmacologically effective amount of a zvegf3 protein in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable delivery vehicle. Also disclosed are methods for promoting proliferation or differentiation of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, chondrocytes, or bone marrow stem cells comprising culturing the cells in an effective amount of a zvegf3 protein.

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1. A method for promoting proliferation of cells comprising culturing the cells in an effective amount of a dimeric protein comprising a first polypeptide chain disulfide bonded to a second polypeptide chain, each of said chains consisting essentially of residues 235-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein the

1. A method for promoting proliferation of cells comprising culturing the cells in an effective amount of a dimeric protein comprising a first polypeptide chain disulfide bonded to a second polypeptide chain, each of said chains consisting essentially of residues 235-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein the cells are osteoblasts or osteoblast precursors. 2. The method of claim wherein the cells are bone marrow stem cells. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the method comprises the additional step of harvesting the cells from a patient prior to the culturing step. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said polypeptide chains consists of residues X-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein X is an integer from 226 to 235, inclusive. 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the cells are osteoblast precursors and wherein at least a portion of the cells differentiate into osteoblasts. 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the method comprises the additional step of harvesting the cells from a patient prior to the culturing step. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the cells are osteoblasts. 8. The method of claim 7 wherein each of said polypeptide chains consists of residues X-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein X is an integer from 226 to 235, inclusive. 9. A method for promoting differentiation of cells, comprising culturing the cells in an effective amount of a dimeric protein comprising a first polypeptide chain disulfide-bonded to a second polypeptide chain, wherein each of said first and second polypeptide chains consisting essentially of amino acid residues 235-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, and wherein the cells are osteoblast precursors, whereby at least a portion of the cells differentiate into osteoblasts. 10. The method of claim 9, comprising the additional step of harvesting the cells from a patient prior to the culturing step. 11. The method of claim 9 wherein the cells are bone marrow stem cells. 12. The method of claim 11, comprising the additional step of harvesting the cells from a patient prior to the culturing step. 13. The method of claim 9 wherein each of said first and second polypeptides consists of residues X-345 of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein X is an integer from 226 to 235, inclusive.