# BMP4

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/bmp4/  
OnCo record `bmp4` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

BMP4 (Bone morphogenetic protein 4) is a gene. In the public catalogues the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role. Tied to Colorectal cancer.

## Summary

Growth factor of the TGF-beta superfamily that plays essential roles in many developmental processes, including neurogenesis, vascular development, angiogenesis and osteogenesis. Acts in concert with PTHLH/PTHRP to stimulate ductal outgrowth during embryonic mammary development and to inhibit hair follicle induction. Initiates the canonical BMP signalling cascade by associating with type I receptor BMPR1A and type II receptor BMPR2.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.56 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.99, animal model 0.76, genetic association 0.68).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: bone morphogenetic protein 4; Bone morphogenetic protein 4; BMP2B
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: BMP4
- Class: other
- Biology: Growth factor of the TGF-beta superfamily that plays essential roles in many developmental processes, including neurogenesis, vascular development, angiogenesis and osteogenesis. Acts in concert with PTHLH/PTHRP to stimulate ductal outgrowth during embryonic mammary development and to inhibit hair follicle induction. Initiates the canonical BMP signalling cascade by associating with type I receptor BMPR1A and type II receptor BMPR2. Once all three components are bound together in a complex at the cell surface, BMPR2 phosphorylates and activates BMPR1A. In turn, BMPR1A propagates signal by phosphorylating SMAD1/5/8 that travel to the nucleus and act as activators and repressors of transcription of target genes. Positively regulates the expression of odontogenic development regulator MSX1 via inducing the IPO7-mediated import of SMAD1 to the nucleus. Location: Secreted, extracellular space, extracellular matrix (UniProt). Locus 14q22.2 (HGNC).
- Where found: Colorectal cancer: Open Targets association 0.54 with colorectal cancer (MONDO_0005575)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: none stated by the sources. Evidence tier "association-only" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:1071: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:1071
- UniProt P12644: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P12644/entry
- NCBI Gene 652: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/652
- Ensembl ENSG00000125378: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000125378

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/bmp4.json