BuMP-ing up insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells.

While several transcription factors are known to increase insulin production and secretion, their therapeutic potential for treatment of type 2 diabetes remains unrealized. In this issue, Goulley et al. (2007) show that BMP signaling specifically regulates genes involved in insulin production and secretion and demonstrate that exogenous BMP4 administration augments glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in vivo.