Molecular cloning of rat bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) type IA receptor and its expression during ectopic bone formation induced by BMP.

A cDNA for the rat bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) type IA receptor (BMPR-IA) was isolated from a dental pulp cell cDNA library. The rat BMPR-IA cDNA encodes a protein of 532 amino acids with a single transmembrane domain and a putative serine/threonine kinase domain. The overall amino acid sequence identity between the rat and human BMPR-IA was 97%. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that BMPR-IA mRNA was highly expressed in the BMP-induced bone forming tissues throughout the stages tested.