A metabologen is defined as a morphogen

Morphogen

A morphogen is a substance governing the pattern of tissue development, and the positions of the various specialized cell types within a tissue...

 (molecule) that can initiate, promote and maintain metabolism

Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...

 and homeostasis

Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...

. Based on this definition Bone Morphogenetic Proteins

Bone morphogenetic protein

Bone morphogenetic proteins are a group of growth factors also known as cytokines and as metabologens . Originally discovered by their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage, BMPs are now considered to constitute a group of pivotal morphogenetic signals, orchestrating tissue...

 (BMPs) are metabologens since they are involved in iron homeostasis, brown fat

Brown adipose tissue

Brown adipose tissue or brown fat is one of two types of fat or adipose tissue found in mammals....

 adipogenesis

Adipogenesis

Adipogenesis is the process of cell differentiation by which preadipocytes become adipocytes.. Adipogenesishas been one of the most intensively studied model of cellular differentiation.-References:...

and energy metabolism. Professor A. Hari Reddi and Anand Reddi in Cytokine Growth Factor Rev were the first to propose the term metabologen (as reviewed in a special issue of Cytokine Growth Factor Review guest edited by Dr. A. Hari Reddi entitled Bone Morphogenetic Proteins, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.).