Other transcripts with higher levels in NP over FAT but less studied in the context of the IVD ECM were Anos1, encoding anosmin-1 associated with tumor progression (Choy et al., 2014), and Bmper, encoding for a protein that inhibits Bmp signaling, therefore impacting many important signaling cascades critical in chondrogenesis (Yoon and Lyons, 2004; Manzari-Tavakoli et al., 2022). The gene discussed is BMPER; the disease is neoplasm.