Inhibitory effect of BMP-2 on the proliferation of breast cancer cells

Abstract

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are involved in diverse biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Results from the MTT assay revealed that BMP-2 significantly inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB‑231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that BMP-2 caused G1 arrest and promoted apoptosis. An increase in p21 and cleaved caspase-3 in the two cell lines was detected by western blot analysis, which may be responsible for the suppression of cancer cell proliferation caused by BMP-2. BMP-2 protected MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells from generating xenograft tumors in nude mice. Thus, BMP-2 may be considered as an inhibitor of breast cancer at the early stages of disease.