Recombinant Human BMP-2 Protein

What it means: This BMP-2 is produced in Human cells rather than in E. coli or insect cells. The manufacturer states the host as human cells and does not name a specific cell line for this product.

Why it matters:

• BMP-2 is a dimeric cystine-knot protein; expression in human cells supports mammalian folding and dimer assembly.
• Production in a human host avoids bacterial host-cell contaminants that can affect sensitive primary-cell, stem-cell and organoid cultures.
• Together with the animal-free, xeno-free and tag-free manufacturing format, it suits fully human culture systems.

How to interpret here: An expression system of Human cells means the BMP-2 was made by a human cell line. This fits its use on human mesenchymal stem cells and in bone and cartilage research.

Tip: When switching from a BMP-2 made in another host, re-titrate the working dose rather than assuming the same activity per microgram.

What it means: The protein is Tag-free: no His, Fc, GST or other affinity tag is fused to the BMP-2 sequence, and no tag needs to be removed before use.

Why it matters:

• A tag adds extra amino acids that can change folding, receptor binding, stability or the apparent molecular weight of a small signaling protein.
• In defined culture media every added component is a variable; a tag-free protein keeps the ligand as close as possible to the native sequence.
• Tag-free proteins are also preferred when results will be compared with published protocols that used untagged proteins.

How to interpret here: Tag-free here means the vial contains only the BMP-2 protein. It cannot be captured or detected with anti-His, anti-GST or Protein A reagents, so plan detection with an antibody against BMP-2 itself.

What it means: Purity of >95% by SDS-PAGE means that when the protein is run on a denaturing gel and stained, at least 95% of the stained protein is the BMP-2 band. It is the purity specification stated by the manufacturer for this product.

Why it matters:

• High purity limits other proteins in the vial that could act on cells or interfere with downstream readouts.
• Dosing is done by protein mass, so a pure preparation makes the amount of BMP-2 added more accurate and comparable between experiments.
• The purity specification sits alongside an endotoxin limit of <0.5 EU/µg and a cell-based activity test.

How to interpret here: A specification of >95% by SDS-PAGE is a minimum value. The exact result for each lot is on the Certificate of Analysis (CoA), available from BioHippo on request.

Tip: SDS-PAGE purity shows how clean the preparation is, not how active it is; check the activity data separately.

What it means: The species is Human: the amino-acid sequence is that of human BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2). The protein is also produced in human cells, so both the sequence and the expression host are human.

Why it matters:

• Matching the species of the protein to the species of the cells avoids differences in receptor affinity between species.
• Human sequence is the usual choice for work with human mesenchymal stem cells and bone and cartilage models.
• Recording the species in protocols matters because the same protein is sold from several species by many suppliers.

How to interpret here: Human here refers to the protein sequence. When reproducing a published protocol, check that the protocol also used Human BMP-2; if it used a protein from another species, the working concentration may need adjusting.

What it means: The protein is supplied Lyophilized, that is freeze-dried to a powder, from a 0.2 µm-filtered solution in PBS and without carrier protein.

Why it matters:

• Lyophilized protein is more stable during storage than a solution, which gives a long shelf life when stored correctly.
• The stock concentration is chosen at reconstitution, so it can be matched to the volumes used in the protocol.
• As supplied, store at −20°C to −80°C for up to 12 months from receipt; after reconstitution keep it under sterile conditions at 2°C to 8°C for up to 1 month or at −20°C to −80°C for up to 3 months; a manual-defrost freezer is recommended.

How to interpret here: Lyophilized means the vial must be reconstituted before use: briefly centrifuge the vial before opening, then reconstitute in sterile 4 mM HCl containing at least 0.1% human or bovine serum albumin.

Tip: The vendor allows human or bovine serum albumin as carrier; choosing human albumin keeps the workflow free of bovine components.

What it means: 30–38 kDa is the molecular weight given by the manufacturer. Separately, the manufacturer describes the protein as a non-glycosylated homodimer.

Why it matters:

• Molecular weight is the first check of identity when the protein is run on a gel or analysed by other methods.
• Band position depends on gel conditions, such as reducing or non-reducing sample buffer, so these conditions should be recorded when comparing results.
• The manufacturer gives this as a nominal value and refers to lot-level documentation for exact data.

How to interpret here: This is the value stated by the manufacturer. Refer to the lot-specific Certificate of Analysis (CoA), available from BioHippo on request, for the data that apply to each lot.

Tip: If a gel band differs from this value, compare it with the CoA for that lot and note whether the sample was reduced or non-reduced.

What it means: Activity is tested as ALP induction in ATDC-5 cells: BMP-2 is added to the ATDC-5 mouse chondrogenic cell line and the induced production of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is measured.

Why it matters:

• A cell-based test confirms that the protein is functionally active, which purity alone cannot show.
• Alkaline phosphatase is an early marker of BMP-driven osteogenic and chondrogenic responses, so the assay is directly relevant to bone and cartilage work.
• ATDC-5 cells respond to BMP signaling, giving a defined readout for this growth factor.

How to interpret here: ALP induction in ATDC-5 cells shows that the protein can trigger a BMP response. No numerical EC50 is given, so working concentrations for MSC differentiation or tissue-engineering studies must be set by protocol and dose response.