Expression, signalling and potential in vivo functions of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-9 in the liver

BMP-9 represents a relatively new member of the TGF-β superfamily and not much is known yet about its' relevance in liver pathologies. Aim of this study was to delineate which liver cell type(s) express BMP-9, if and how they respond to it and to find hints about its function(s) in the liver. As determined by real-time PCR, primary hepatic stellate cells (HSC) expressed increasing amounts of BMP-9 mRNA during in vitro transdifferentiation and conditioned medium from these cells mimicked effects of rec. BMP-9, indicating that HSC secrete functional protein. Primary cultured hepatocytes (HC), in contrast, expresse…