Recombinant human BMPs 2 and 4 expressed in mammalian cells aiming at bone tissue engineering and stem cell proliferation and differentiation

Background Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are multifunctional, secreted cytokines belonging to the TGF-b superfamily. These proteins act as a disulfide-linked homodimer, being potent regulators of bone and cartilage formation and repair, cell proliferation in embryonic development and adult bone homeostasis. BMPs are promising molecules in periodontal regeneration to treat physiopathological bone loss and non-union fractures and in oral surgery, and to accelerate and increase osseointegration. BMPs are dimeric molecules displaying sites for Nand O-glycosylation, which increases the stability and half-life of the protein in the body, in addition to determining the specificity of receptor coupling. BMP-2 induces cartilage and bone formation. BMP4 has also been shown to play a role in triggering osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, through activation of osteoblastic related genes. In order to ensure proper glycosylation and conformational folding and to prevent immunogenicity, we elected a mammalian cell expression system to produce these BMPs aiming at bone regeneration, stem cell proliferation and differentiation and their application in human and veterinary cell therapy.