Effects of bone morphogenetic protein 2 on human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their receptors play important roles in cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, migration and cell survival. It was also demonstrated that BMPs are involved in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the expression profile of BMP receptors in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and determined the effect of BMP-2 on proliferation, migration, invasion, cell survival and tube formation. HUVECs express the type I BMP receptors ALK2, ALK3 and ALK6 and the type II receptor BMPR-II. Treatment of HUVECs with recombinant human BMP-2 induced migration, invasion and tube formation of HUVECs without affecting proliferation and apoptosis. Our data suggest that BMP-2 represents a chemoattractant and proangiogenic factor for HUVECs.