Noggin and sclerostin bone morphogenetic protein antagonists form a mutually inhibitory complex

Noggin and sclerostin are bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonists that modulate mitogenic activity through sequestering BMPs. Little is known of the interactions among this class of proteins. We show that recombinant sclerostin and noggin bound to each other with high affinity (K(D) = 2.92 nm). This observation has been extended to naturally expressed noggin and sclerostin from the rat osteosarcoma cell line, ROS 17/2.8, supporting a role for the complex in natural systems. The noggin-sclerostin complex was competitive with BMP binding and mutually attenuated the activity of each BMP antagonist. Collectively, the data demonstrate a novel and exquisite paradigm for the regulation of BMP activity through direct neutralization of the BMP and activation by co-localized BMP antagonist expression. The pleiotrophic nature of noggin and sclerostin represents a novel mechanism for the fine-tuning of BMP activity in bone homeostasis.