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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Apr 29.
Published in final edited form as: Circ Res. 2022 Apr 28;130(9):1365–1381. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.320084

Figure 2: The BMP signalling pathway.

Figure 2:

BMP ligands can form homo- or heterodimers which signal through a tetrameric set of receptors, comprising two type I and two type II receptors. Binding of BMP dimers to the receptors triggers a phosphorylation cascade that result in phosphorylation of Smad 1/5/8 and players of various non-SMAD pathways to initiate SMAD and non-SMAD signaling cascades. The non-SMAD pathways include signaling by mitogen-activated proteins kinases (MAPKs p38, ERK, and JNK), PI3K/AKT, and small Rho-like GTPases. Phosphorylated Smads are able to form complexes with Smad4 and translocate to the nucleus. (Illustration credit: Ben Smith)