title: BMPs and the muscle-bone connection.
abstract: Muscle and bone are two intimately connected tissues. A coordinated interplay between these tissues at mechanical levels is required for their development, function and ageing. Evidence is emerging that several genes and molecular pathways exert a pleiotropic effect on both muscle and bone. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are secreted signal factors belonging to the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily. BMPs have an essential role during bone and cartilage formation and maintenance. Recently, we and others have demonstrated that the BMP pathway also has a role in controlling adult skeletal muscle mass. Thus, BMPs become crucial regulators of both bone and muscle formation and homeostasis. In this review we will discuss the signalling downstream BMP and its role in muscle-bone interaction. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Muscle Bone Interactions".
authors.affiliation: Dulbecco Telethon Institute, Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, 35129 Padova, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy. Electronic address: roberta_sartori@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.affiliation: Dulbecco Telethon Institute, Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, 35129 Padova, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), 80131 Napoli, Italy. Electronic address: marco.sandri@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandri
mesh_terms: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D055435:Myostatin / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D055435:Myostatin
keywords: BMP; Hypertrophy; Muscle wasting; Myostatin; Skeletal muscle