BMP-10

Bone morphogenetic protein 10 (BMP-10) is a cardiac-restricted TGF-β family ligand whose functions center on the heart and the vascular system rather than bone. During cardiogenesis, BMP-10 is expressed in the trabeculating ventricular myocardium and regulates chamber maturation, cardiac cushion formation and the trabeculation-compaction balance essential for ventricular wall morphogenesis. In adult life, BMP-10 is produced by the right atrium and acts on vascular endothelium through ALK1 and BMPR2-SMAD1/5 signaling to maintain quiescence of the pulmonary and systemic vasculature; together with BMP-9, it constitutes an endothelial angiostatic tone. Loss of BMP-10 bioavailability, via cleavage by the cardiac protease corin or dysregulated proprotein convertases, contributes to pulmonary arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia-related vascular malformations. BMP-10 also suppresses endothelial inflammation, limits atherosclerotic lesion formation, and drives mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation in vitro, linking cardiokine biology with vascular medicine and bone research.