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Bone morphogenic protein‐7 (BMP‐7) is a key protein involved in liver organogenesis and development. The physiological circulating concentration of BMP‐7 is between 100 and 300 pg/ml. BMP‐7 expression is absent in the liver, but the receptors for BMP‐7 are present on adult hepatocytes. Therefore, we hypothesized that BMP‐7 might function as an endogenous regulator of adult hepatocyte proliferation and liver homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that neutralization of circulating endogenous BMP‐7 results in significantly impaired regeneration of the liver after partial hepatectomy. Therapeutic administration of recombinant human BMP‐7 (rhBMP‐7) significantly enhances liver regeneration associated with accelerated improvement of liver function. Collectively, our results argue for the role of BMP‐7 as a kidney‐and bone‐produced endogenous regulator of hepatocyte health. Sugimoto, H., Yang, C., Le Bleu, V. S., Soubasakos, M. A., Giraldo, M., Zeisberg, M., Kalluri, R. BMP‐7 functions as a novel hormone to facilitate liver regeneration. FASEB J. 21, 256–264 (2007)
Sugimoto et al. (Mon,) studied this question.