Roles and regulation of bone morphogenetic protein-7 in kidney development and diseases

The gene encoding bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7) is expressed in the developing kidney in embryos and also in the mature organ in adults. During kidney development, expression of BMP7 is essential to determine the final number of nephrons in and proper size of the organ. The secreted BMP7 acts on the nephron progenitor cells to exert its dual functions: To maintain and expand the progenitor population and to provide them with competence to respond to differentiation cues, each relying on distinct signaling pathways. Intriguingly, in the adult organ, BMP7 has been implicated in protection against and regeneration from injury. Exogenous administration of recombinant BMP7 to animal models of kidney diseases has shown promising effects in counteracting inflammation, apoptosis and fibrosis evoked upon injury. Although the expression pattern of BMP7 has been well described, the mechanisms by which it is regulated have remained elusive and the processes by which the secretion sites of BMP7 impinge upon its functions in kidney development and diseases have not yet been assessed. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms will pave the way towards gaining better insight into the roles of BMP7, and to achieving desired control of the gene expression as a therapeutic strategy for kidney diseases.