Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 Induces Donor-Dependent Osteogenic and Adipogenic Differentiation in Human Adipose Stem Cells

This study examined how bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) modulates the SMAD signaling mechanism and the proliferation and differentiation outcome of human adipose stem cells (hASCs) derived from several donors. The results indicate that BMP-2 triggers molecular SMAD signaling mechanisms in hASCs and regulates differentiation processes in human serum-culture conditions. Importantly, BMP-2 has dual activity, inducing osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, subject to hASC donor line studied. These findings explain contradictory previous results and highlight the importance of further studies to understand how signaling pathways guide mesenchymal stem cell functions at the molecular level.
Source: Stem Cells Translational Medicine - Category: Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Tissue-Specific Progenitor and Stem Cells, Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Source Type: research