It was previously reported that the BMP family was correlated with the morphogenesis of digits and ocular development, and Bmp4 heterozygous null mice revealed skeletal abnormalities including polydactyly and ocular anterior segment abnormalities.
Our data suggest that dysregulated expression of BMP4 and BMP5 genes is associated with an array of human axial skeletal abnormalities similar to the short ear mouse and FOP.