Opposing SMAD-6 and SMAD-7 Expression Profiles Correlate with the Sensitivity of Multiple Myeloma Cells to Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-2

Objective: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic disease characterized by hyper-proliferation of antibody secreting B-cells. One of the most severe accompanying symptoms in MM is the destruction of bone tissue. Thus, the use of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) for MM treatment seems to be a good option since these proteins are capable to induce formation of bone tissue in vivo and additionally can suppress cell proliferation of malignant Bcells. But, the different BMP family members vary in their biological activities also in terms of donor specific differences of addressed cells. In this study we analyzed signal transduction of two different TGF family members, BMP2 and GDF5, in different MM cell lines.