title: Recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins-2 and -4 induce several mesenchymal phenotypes in culture.
abstract: Bone morphogenetic protein has previously been shown to induce the formation of cartilage and bone in vivo. We have isolated a population of mesenchymal stem cells from rat skeletal muscle capable of forming multiple mesodermal morphologies in vitro. These cells were treated with recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins-2 and -4 to determine the differentiation-inducing activities of bone morphogenetic protein on these cells. The mesenchymal stem cells were cultured in medium with 10% preselected horse serum containing 0 to 100 ng/ml recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins-2 or -4 for a maximum of 4 weeks. Control cultures maintained the stellate morphology of mesenchymal stem cells. Cultures treated with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 exhibited discrete cartilage nodules and mineralized bone nodules. The first increase in chondrogenesis was seen at 0.5 ng/ml. Cultures treated with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-4 also exhibited an increase in chondrogenesis at the higher concentration of 2 ng/ml. Skeletal myotubes and adipocytes also appeared in cultures treated with either bone morphogenetic protein. Mesenchymal stem cells do respond to inductive factors, but bone morphogenetic proteins-2 and -4 were not specific for the induction of cartilage and bone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Mercer University School of Medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, Macon, GA, USA.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Southerland
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lucas