BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-2 - BIOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 is a low molecular weight glycoprotein, c lassified as a morphogen, The sine qua non of bone morphogenetic prote in is consistently reproducible induction of bone development in heter otopic sites, Bone morphogenetic proteins belong to the expanding tran sforming growth factor-beta superfamily, Bone morphogenetic protein-2 has pleiotropic functions that range from extraskeletal and skeletal o rganogenesis to bone generation and regeneration, Bone morphogenetic p rotein induced bone formation in post-fetal life recapitulates the pro cess of embryonic and endochondral ossification, Through recombinant g ene technology, human bone morphogenetic protein-2 is available in alm ost unlimited amounts for basic research and clinical trials, Human bo ne morphogenetic protein-2 induces structurally sound orthotopic bone in a variety of experimental systems, including femoral defects in rat s, tibial and ulnar defects in rabbits, femoral defects in sheep, mand ibular defects in dogs, spinal fusion in dogs, and porous ingrowth in rats, Human bone morphogenetic protein-2 research extends to the field s of developmental biology, genetics, and evolution, Bone morphogeneti c protein has been used successfully at the authors' institution to he al clinical nonunions and to achieve spinal fusion, This report review s the current understanding of bone morphogenetic proteins in general and BMP-2 in particular and summarizes their potential applications.