title: Bone morphogenetic protein 7 suppresses the progression of hepatic fibrosis             and regulates the expression of gremlin and transforming growth factor β1.
abstract: Bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7), a member of the transforming growth             factor (TGF)-β superfamily, counteracts the effect of TGF-β through different             signaling pathways, and gremlin is considered as one of the antagonists of BMP-7.             The aim of this study was to investigate the antifibrotic effect of BMP-7, and             to clarify the expression patterns of gremlin and TGF-β1 in the progression of             hepatic fibrosis after treatment with BMP-7. A mouse liver fibrosis model was             induced by hypodermic injection of CCL4 and all the liver and blood samples were             preserved for further study. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was             used for detecting mRNA expression, and protein levels and localization were measured             by western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The improvement of             liver function and the regression of hepatic fibrosis were demonstrated by the             parameters of a liver test and a histopathological assay, owing to the downregulated             expression of COL-I, α-SMA, TIMP-2 and upregulated MMP-2. Moreover, exogenous             BMP-7 appeared to suppress the expression of TGF-β1 and increase the levels of             gremlin. In conclusion, hepatic fibrosis was ameliorated by the administration             of BMP-7, and the expression of gremlin and TGF-β1 were regulated by BMP-7. The             identification of the dynamic expression pattern of gremlin may yield a novel             biomarker for assessing the degree of hepatic fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Liver Diseases, Liver Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, PR China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shao Long
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao Ju
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Chun Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yong Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D054407:Chemokine CCL4 / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016207:Cytokines; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7; D054407:Chemokine CCL4; D016207:Cytokines; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; C113178:Grem1 protein, mouse