BMP7 and arthritic joint disease: For example, the bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7), also known as osteogenic protein 1 (OP-1), is a growth factor that stimulates cartilage and bone formation during embryonic development and postnatal growth (Boon et al., 2011; Chubinskaya et al., 2007), and has shown good promise in preclinical models of arthritis (Badlani et al., 2008; Badlani et al., 2009; Hayashi et al., 2008; Hayashi et al., 2010; Hurtig et al., 2009; Sekiya et al., 2009; Takahashi et al., 2011).