Bone Morphogenetic Protein 6 (BMP6)

Bone morphogenetic proteins, such as BMP6, belong to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily of regulatory molecules (Rickard et al., 1998).Rickard et al. (1998) presented evidence that the skeletal effects of estrogen on bone and cartilage may be mediated by increased production of BMP6 by osteoblasts. They investigated the effect of estrogen on BMP production in 2 estrogen-responsive, human immortalized cell lines that display the mature osteoblast phenotype.Tamada et al. (1998) found that the promoter region of the BMP6 gene lacks a canonical TATA box, but has a GC-rich region with 2 SP1-binding sites, an inverted CCAAT element, and a putative tramtrack responsive element. Reporter gene assays suggested that the BMP6 promoter has osteogenic cell specificity.