Regulation of the Immune System in Health and Disease by Members of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein Family

Tommaso Sconocchia; Giuseppe Sconocchia

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.802346

Regulation of the Immune System in Health and Disease by Members of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein Family

Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 2:12:802346. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.802346. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Tommaso Sconocchia¹, Giuseppe Sconocchia²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Hematology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
² Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are potent signaling molecules initially described as osteopromoting proteins. BMPs represent one of the members of the larger TGFβ family and today are recognized for their important role in numerous processes. Among the wide array of functions recently attributed to them, BMPs were also described to be involved in the regulation of components of the innate and adaptive immune response. This review focuses on the signaling pathway of BMPs and highlights the effects of BMP signaling on the differentiation, activation, and function of the main cell types of the immune system.

Keywords: BMP; T cells; autoimmunity; cancer; dendritic cells; immune regulation; inflammation; macrophages.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / immunology*
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / metabolism
Humans
Immune System / immunology*
Immune System / metabolism
Signal Transduction / immunology*

Substances

Bone Morphogenetic Proteins