Bone morphogenetic protein 6
Encyclopedia
Bone morphogenetic protein 6 is a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the BMP6 gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

The protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 encoded by this gene is a member of the TGFβ superfamily. Bone morphogenetic proteins are known for their ability to induce the growth of bone and cartilage. BMP6 is able to induce all osteogenic markers in mesenchymal stem cell
Mesenchymal stem cell
Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including: osteoblasts , chondrocytes and adipocytes...

s.

The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are a family of secreted signaling molecules that can induce ectopic bone growth. BMPs are part of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFB) superfamily. BMPs were originally identified by an ability of demineralized bone extract to induce endochondral osteogenesis in vivo in an extraskeletal site. Based on its expression early in embryogenesis, the BMP encoded by this gene has a proposed role in early development. In addition, the fact that this BMP is closely related to BMP5 and BMP7 has led to speculation of possible bone inductive activity.
As of April 2009, an additional function of BMP6 has been identified as described in Nature Genetics April; 41 [4]:386-8. BMP6 is the key regulator of hepcidin, the small peptide secreted by the liver which is the major regulator of iron metabolism in mammals.

Further reading

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