Crystal structure of BMP-9 and functional interactions with pro-region and receptors
Brown, M.A., Zhao, Q., Baker, K.A., Naik, C., Chen, C., Pukac, L., Singh, M., Tsareva, T., Parice, Y., Mahoney, A., Roschke, V., Sanyal, I., Choe, S.(2005) J Biol Chem 280: 25111-25118
- PubMed: 15851468 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M503328200
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1ZKZ - PubMed Abstract: 
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), a subset of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily, regulate a diverse array of cellular functions during development and in the adult. BMP-9 (also known as growth and differentiation factor (GDF)-2) potently induces osteogenesis and chondrogenesis, has been implicated in the differentiation of cholinergic neurons, and may help regulate glucose metabolism. We have determined the structure of BMP-9 to 2.3 A and examined the differences between our model and existing crystal structures of other BMPs, both in isolation and in complex with their receptors. TGF-beta ligands are translated as precursors, with pro-regions that generally dissociate after cleavage from the ligand, but in some cases (including GDF-8 and TGF-beta1, -2, and -3), the pro-region remains associated after secretion from the cell and inhibits binding of the ligand to its receptor. Although the proregion of BMP-9 remains tightly associated after secretion, we find, in several cell-based assays, that the activities of BMP-9 and BMP-9.pro-region complex were equivalent. Activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK-1), an orphan receptor in the TGF-beta family, was also identified as a potential receptor for BMP-9 based on surface plasmon resonance studies (BIAcore) and the ability of soluble ALK-1 to block the activity of BMP-9.pro-region complex in cell-based assays.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Structural Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.