Effect of transgenic overexpression of BMP antagonist noggin on chemically-induced skin carcinogenesis

To study the role of BMP signaling pathway in the development of skin tumors, we employed two-stage chemical carcinogenesis protocol on K14-Noggin mice expressing BMP antagonist noggin in the epidermis. A comparative analysis showed an earlier appearance and a significant increase in the number of skin papillomas in K14-Noggin mice compared to the wild-type control (FVB). In contrast to control mice, the transgenic K14-Noggin mice also developed squamous cell carcinoma with local metastasis of malignant cells into the dermis of the skin. The results of this work indicate the tumor suppressive role of BMP signaling pathway in the skin epithelium.