After prolonged peritoneal dialysis (PD) and exposure to a non-physiological dialysis solution, peritoneal mesothelial cells undergo the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. In other biological systems, bone morphogenic protein-7 (BMP-7) is a key factor that controls this process. However, the role of BMP-7 in peritoneal physiology has not been studied.
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China. ccszeto@cuhk.edu.hk
