H11 kinase/Hsp22 (H11K) is a chaperone promoting cardiac cell growth and survival through the activation of Akt, a downstream effector of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). In this study, we tested whether H11K-induced activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway is mediated by the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, both in a transgenic mouse model with cardiac-specific overexpression of H11K...

Bone morphogenetic proteins 9 and 10 (BMP9/BMP10) are circulating cytokines with important roles in endothelial homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of BMP9 and BMP10 in mediating monocyte-endothelial interactions using an in vitro flow adhesion assay. Herein, we report that whereas BMP9/BMP10 alone had no effect on monocyte recruitment, at higher concentrations both ...

Oocytes regulate follicle growth by secreting paracrine growth factors that act on neighbouring granulosa cells (GCs). Those factors identified to date are mainly members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) superfamily, but little is known about which specific receptor/signalling system(s) they employ. This study was conducted to determine the requisite pathways utilised by oocytes...

Mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) type II receptor (BMPR2) gene cause familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (FPAH), a disease characterized by excessive smooth muscle and endothelial cell proliferation. However, the specific receptors mediating responses to BMPs in human vascular cells are not known. We show that human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) express hi...

BMPs have recently emerged as likely regulators of development of the permanent kidney (metanephros). Transcripts for BMPs and their receptors have been localised in the developing metanephros. In vitro, BMPs 2, 4 and 7 have direct or indirect roles in regulation of ureteric branching morphogenesis and branch formation. In vivo, renal phenotypes have been reported in BMP7 homozygous null mutant...

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a rare genetic and catastrophic disorder characterized by progressive heterotopic ossification, is caused by a point mutation, c.617G>A; p.R206H, in the activin A receptor type 1 (ACVR1) gene, one of the bone morphogenetic protein type I receptors (BMPR-Is). Although altered BMP signaling has been suggested to explain the pathogenesis, the molecular ...

T o prevent pathological excesses or deficiencies, body iron balance must be tightly controlled due to the lack of a highly evolved mechanism for iron excretion. This is achieved through the liver peptide hepcidin, which efficiently regulates the processes of duodenal iron absorption, macrophage iron release and tissue iron storage, primarily in the liver. Hepcidin is released into the circulat...