Bone morphogenetic protein -4 (BMP-4) is one of nine structurally related BMPs, belonging to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, which secretes proteins. Mature BMP-4 is a dimer that binds to a multimeric transmembrane receptor with serine/threonine kinase activity. BMP-4 treatment promoted the proliferation of HCC cells and induced autophagy. Mechanism study shows that autophagy induced by BMP-4 is mediated by activating JNK1/Bcl2 pathway. JNK1 inhibitor and JNK1 knockout can weaken BMP-4-induced autophagy and eliminate BMP-4-promoted HCC cell growth. BMP-4 promotes the proliferation of HCC through autophagy activation of JNK1/Bcl-2 signaling.
