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...

Imbalances in the ratio of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) versus activin and TGFβ signaling are increasingly associated with human diseases yet the mechanisms mediating this relationship remain unclear. The type 2 receptors ACVR2A and ACVR2B bind BMPs and activins but the type 2 receptor BMPR2 only binds BMPs, suggesting that type 2 receptor utilization might play a role in mediating the inte...

Developing oligodendrocytes undergo a well-characterized maturation process that is controlled by extrinsic factors that promote specification, proliferation, and differentiation. Inhibitory factors also influence oligodendrocyte development and may regulate the location and number of oligodendrocytes available for myelination. These factors may also repress regeneration and remyelination after...

Saturated fatty acids are known to activate macrophages and induce vascular inflammation. Although cytokines from activated macrophage influence other vascular cells, the influence of saturated fatty acids on the paracrine effect of macrophages is not fully understood yet. Here we examined the impact of palmitate on the effect of macrophages on vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and their medi...

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 physiopathologica...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) participate in multiple stages of the fetal skeletogenic program from promoting cell condensation to regulating chondrogenesis and bone formation through endochondral ossification. Here, we show that these pleiotropic functions are recapitulated when recombinant BMPs are used to augment skeletal tissue repair. In addition to their well-documented ability to st...

BACKGROUND A giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone is a locally aggressive tumor with a propensity for local recurrence. A characteristic pattern of peripheral bone formation has been described in GCT recurrence in soft tissue, and in some pulmonary metastases from benign GCT. Although the bone formation in GCT in supposedly due to bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), the expression pattern of BMPs in ...

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a central role in a wide range of biological processes and are prime targets for drug discovery. GPCRs have large hydrophobic domains, and therefore purification of GPCRs from cells is frequently time-consuming and typically results in loss of native conformation. In this work, GPCRs have been successfully assembled into the lipid membrane of nanosized b...