Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), which have been shown to be heparin-binding proteins, induce osteoblast differentiation in mesenchymal cells. In the present study, we examined the effects of heparin on the BMP activities in C2C12 myoblasts. Heparin dose dependently enhanced the osteoblast differentiation induced by not only homodimers of BMP-2 or BMP-4 but also heterodimers of BMP-2/6 or BM...

Although growth differentiation factor-5 (GDF5) has been implicated in skeletal development and joint morphogenesis in mammals, little is known about its functionality in adipogenesis and energy homeostasis. Here, we show a critical role of GDF5 in regulating brown adipogenesis for systemic energy expenditure in mice. GDF5 expression was preferentially upregulated in brown adipose tissues from ...

The bird wing is of special interest to students of homology and avian evolution. Fossil and developmental data give conflicting indications of digit homology if a pentadactyl "archetype" is assumed. Morphological signs of a vestigial digit I are seen in bird embryos, but no digit-like structure develops in wild-type embryos. To examine the developmental mechanisms of digit loss, we studied the...

Antenatal ambroxol, dexamethasone (Dex) and betamethasone (Beta) are used to prevent neonate respiratory distress syndrome. The present study aimed to investigate the role of ambroxol, Dex and Beta administered antenatally on lung morphogenesis and signal transduction of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) in rat embryo. Fetal lungs treated with ambroxol, 1-day Beta, 3-day Dex and 3-day Beta were ...

TGFbeta activated kinase 1 (TAK1), a member of the MAPKKK family, controls diverse functions ranging from innate and adaptive immune system activation to vascular development and apoptosis. To analyse the in vivo function of TAK1 in cartilage, we generated mice with a conditional deletion of Tak1 driven by the collagen 2 promoter. Tak1(col2) mice displayed severe chondrodysplasia with runting, ...

Autologous tissue grafting for the restoration of oral tissues is limited by several factors, including the availability of sufficient donor tissue. One solution to this problem may be to develop substitute tissue grafts by attaching disaggregated autologous cells propagated in vitro to scaffolds composed of natural or synthetic polymers. We have earlier demonstrated that human dental pulp and ...

The incidence of tendon re-tears post-surgery is an ever present complication. It is suggested that the application of biological factors, such as bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7), can reduce complication rates by promoting tenogenic characteristics in in vitro studies. However, there remains a dearth of information in regards to the mechanisms of BMP-7 signalling in tenocytes. Using primar...

Although pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) was originally thought to be a disease of increased pulmonary arterial (PA) tone, we now know that vasoconstriction is important only in a minority of patients.1 PAH is characterized by increased proliferation of PA endothelial cells (PAECs) and PA smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), leading to narrowing or even obliteration of the PA lumen, increased pu...

the fecb, a mutation in the bone morphogenetic protein receptor ib (bmpr-ib) gene, which increases the fecundity of booroola merino sheep, and fecgh, a mutation in the growth and differentiation factor 9 (gdf9), which affects the fecundity of cambridge and belclare sheep in a dose sensitive manner, were analyzed as candidate genes associated with the prolificacy in rayini goats. these polymorph...