Background. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are potent inducers of bone formation. Functional and immunohistochemical studies have identified BMPs in a subset of osteosarcomas. In the present study, the authors extend the analysis of BMP expression to other bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
Methods. Monoclonal antibody AbH3bZ/17 against human BMP-2 and BMP-4 was used in avidin-biotin-immunoperoxidase assays with frozen sections of bone tumors (71 specimens), soft tissue sarcomas (69 specimens), and normal tissues.
Results. Among bone tumors, BMP was detected in osteosarcomas (17 of 29 samples), malignant fibrous histiocytomas (MFHs) (6 of s), and the spindle cell sarcomatous components of spindle cell (dedifferentiated) chondrosarcomas (4 of 4), but not in conventional chondrosarcomas (0 of 10) or Ewing's sarcomas (0 of 14). Histologic subtypes of osteosarcoma differed for BMP expression, with 8 of 9 fibrohistiocytic, 9 of 13 osteoblastic, and 0 of 5 chondroblastic lesions showing immunostaining. In all BMP-positive bone tumors, immunostaining was localized in the cytoplasm of primitive mesenchymal cells, with little or no staining in tumor matrix and more mature osteoblastic/chondrocytic cells. Among soft tissue sarcomas, MFHs (11 of 12), liposarcomas (5 of 111, leiomyosarcomas (3 of 9), and malignant schwannomas (3 of 8) showed cytoplasmic BMP immunostaining. Synovial sarcomas (0 of 9), rhabdomyosarcomas (0 of 8), and fibrosarcomas (0 of 7) were BMP-negative. All normal human