Figure 1.
Effects of bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) on RAW 264·7 cells. (a) BMP-6 dramatically altered the morphology of RAW 264·7 cells, similarly to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. (b) Cellular proliferation was determined by haemocytometer. Treatment with BMP-6 suppressed the proliferation of RAW 264·7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner (*P ≤ 0·05) (top panel). BMP-6 also inhibited cellular proliferation of primary murine peritoneal macrophages and the human monocyte/macrophage cell line THP-1 in a concentration-dependent manner (*P < 0·05) (bottom panel). Bars represent the average cell count ± standard deviation (SD). (c, d) Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry showed an increased fraction of cells in the G1 phase and a decreased fraction in the S and G2/M phases after BMP-6 treatment (*P ≤ 0·05). Bars represent the average cell count ± SD. (e) RAW 264·7 cells were treated with 100 ng of BMP-6 for 24 and 48 hr and the apoptotic population was measured using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). PMφ, peritoneal macrophage φ.