BMP signaling in vascular development and disease

Abstract

Genetic and functional studies indicate that common components of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway play critical roles in regulating vascular development in the embryo and in promoting vascular homeostasis and disease in the adult. However, discrepancies between in vitro and in vivo findings and distinct functional properties of the BMP signaling pathway in different vascular beds, have led to controversies in the field that have been difficult to reconcile. This review attempts to clarify some of these issues by providing an up to date overview of the biology and genetics of BMP signaling relevant to the intact vasculature.

Figure 1

Phylogenic comparison of TGF-β superfamily ligands based upon full length human protein sequences. Sequence similarity to Drosophila BMP orthologues is indicated. Alternative names are listed in parentheses. Ligands in blue are bona fide BMPs that have been shown to activate BMP SMADs. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted in MEGA4 (200) using the Neighbor-Joining method (201).