Type:Protein
SpeciesReactivity:H
B=Bovine;Ca=Cat;Ch=Chicken;D=Dog;EQ=Equine;GP=GuineaPig;H=Human;M=Mouse;P=Porcine;Pr=Primate;R=Rat;Rb=Rabbit;Y=Yeast;Xe=Xenopus;Ze=Zebrafish;;;;NA-NotApplicable;STP=Step-TactinProteins;AllHumanBMP-4isoneofatleast15structurallyandfunctionallyrelatedBMPs,whicharemembersofthetransforminggrowthfactorβ(TGF-β)superfamily.BMPswereoriginallyidentifiedasproteinregulatorsofcartilageandboneformation.However,theyhavesincebeenshowntobeinvolvedinembryogenesisandmorphogenesisofvarioustissuesandorgans.BMPshavealsobeenshowntoregulatethegrowth,differentiation,chemotaxisandapoptosisofvariouscelltypes,includingmesenchymalcells,epithelialcells,hematopoieticcellsandneuronalcells.SimilarlytootherTGF-βfamilyproteins,BMPsarehighlyconservedacrossanimalspecies.Attheaminoacidsequencelevel,maturehumanandmouseBMP-4are98%and100%identical,respectively,tomatureratBMP-4. BMP-4issynthesizedasalargeprecursorproteinthatiscleavedatthedibasiccleavagesite(RXXR)toreleasethecarboxyterminaldomain.BIOLOGicallyactiveBMP-4isadisulfide-linkedhomodimerofthecarboxy-terminal116aminoacidresiduesthatcontainsthecharacteristicsevenconservedcysteineresiduesinvolvedintheformationofthecysteineknotandthesingleinterchaindisulfidebond.CellularresponsestoBMP-4havebeenshowntobemediatedbytheformationofhetero-oligomericcomplexesoftypeIandtypeIIserine/threoninekinasereceptors.OneBMPtypeIIandtwoBMPtypeIreceptorshavebeenidentified.IncontrasttotheTGF-βtypeIreceptor,whichdoesnotbindtheligandintheabsenceoftheTGF-βreceptortypeII,bothBMPreceptortypeIscanbindBMP-4withhigh-affinityintheabsenceofBMPreceptortypeII.Forreviews,seeKawabata,M.etal.,1998,CytokineandGrowthFactorReviews9:49;Ebendal,T.etal.,1998,J.Neurosci.Res.51:139;andReddi,A.H.,1998,NatureBiotechnology16:247.
