Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) act in dose-dependent fashion to regulate cell fate choices in a myriad of developmental contexts. In early vertebrate and invertebrate embryos, BMPs and their antagonists establish epidermal versus central nervous system domains. In this highly conserved system, BMP antagonists mediate the neural-inductive activities proposed by Hans Spemann and Hilde Mangold...

Long-range chromosomal travel is a phenomenon unique to cell division. Methods for non-invasive, artificial manipulation of chromosomes, such as optical or magnetic tweezers, have difficulty in producing the motion of whole chromosomes in live cells. Here, we report the spatial control of chromosomes over 10 μm in a live mouse oocyte using magnetic particles driven by an external magnetic field...

Traditionally two different subfamilies of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily have been associated with different effects on tissue fibrosis: the profibrotic TGF-β subfamily (TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3) and the antifibrotic bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) subfamily. TGF-β1 is the most widely studied profibrotic cytokine, as it regulates numerous processes involved in tissue ...

The effort to manage diffuse pollution at the catchment scale is an ongoing challenge that needs to take into account trade-offs between environmental and economic objectives. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are gaining ground as a means to address the problem, but their application (and impact) is highly dependant on the characteristics of the crops and of the land in which they are to be app...

The concentration of oxygen dissolved in water affects aquatic organisms. Unrestrained logging and site preparation can depress (DO) concentrations adjacent streams by elevating temperatures (with removal riparian shade), impounding channels (reduced reaeration rates), introducing fresh, oxygen-depleting slash. One the first paired watershed studies investigating use streamside management zones...

INTRODUCTION The localized BMP signaling that initiates the development of the posterior cross vein (PCV) from the epithelia of the Drosophila melanogaster pupal wing depends in large part on the BMPs Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Glass bottom boat (Gbb), which are secreted from the earlier arising longitudinal veins (LVs) (Conley et al., 2000; Ray and Wharton, 2001; Ralston and Blair, 2005). Altho...

Nonpoint source water pollution generated by agricultural production is considered a major environmental issue in the United States and Europe. One strategy in the United States has been to adopt various measures, called best management practices (BMPs), to reduce water pollution. Our research addresses legal institutions and the applied use of BMPs, and discusses compensatory payments to reduc...

Molecular network of the osteogenic BMPs and extracellular inhibitors maintains homeostasis of the skeletal tissues. It is important to determine relationship between BMP-2, -4 and -7 and their inhibitors: gremlin, follistatin, chordin and noggin, during normal osteogenesis. To determine their expression pattern we conducted investigation by inducing ectopic bone formation in rats. The results ...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multi-functional growth factors and belong to the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) superfamily. The roles of BMPs in embryonic development and cellular functions in postnatal animals have been extensively studied in recent years. Signal transduction studies have revealed that Smad1 and 5 are the immediate downstream molecules of BMP receptor and p...

Bone morphogenetic proteins, BMPs, are members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, which are implicated in embryogenesis, organogenesis, skeletogenesis, osteogenesis, cellular differentiation and apoptosis by regulating the expression of specific target genes. Recent progresses in studying the BMP signaling reveal that a cytoplasmic protein family, Smad, plays a centr...