Activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase contribute to BMP4-induced alkaline phosphatase expression in MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast

Bone morphogenetic proteins （BMPs） induce ectopic bone formation and promote osteoblast differentiation. It has been documented that Smad transcriptional factors function as primary mediators of BMPs activity. Receptor-regulated Smad （Smad1, 5, 8） could be phosphorylated by activated BMPR-I and form complex with Smad4. The Smad complex translocates to the nucleus and regulate target gene transcription. Recently, several reports suggested that Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase （MAPK） signaling pathways could be initiated downstream of the BMP receptor complex. Alkaline phosphatase （ALP） is an early marker of osteoblast differentiation Both ALP activity and its mRNA expression level could be increased by BMP4 treatment. Previously, we demonstrated that mutation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation sites in Smad5 partially rescued Smad transcriptional activity. However, fibroblast growth factor2-suppressed ALP activity could not be rescued similarly by introduction of Smad5 mutant in MC3T3-E1. These results prompted us to further evaluate the effect of BMP4-stimulated Smad transcriptional activity on ALP expression in this study.