Provided herein are methods of treating diseases associated with anemia or ineffective erythropoiesis by using the level and/or activity of a ligand of an activin receptor, in particular, Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), as an indicator of responsiveness of a patient to the treatment, efficacy of the treatment, or appropriate dosage for the treatment with an activin type II receptor inhibitor.

The present invention refers to osteomodulin (OMD) protein or fragment of osteomodulin (OMD) protein for use in the prognosis and/or diagnosis of osteoarthritis and/or subchondral bone sclerosis of mammals, preferably human individuals. The present invention further refers to a method for prognosis and/or diagnosis of osteoarthritis and/or subchondral bone sclerosis, comprising the following steps: i) measuring osteomodulin (OMD) protein or a fragment or fragments of osteomodulin (OMD) protein in samples of body fluids of mammalian individuals, preferably human serum samples; ii) judging that decreased levels of osteomodulin (OMD) protein or of said fragment(s) compared to levels in body fluids, preferably serum, of healthy individuals indicate onset of osteoarthritis and/or subchondral bone sclerosis. The present invention also provides an immunological binding partner specifically binding to osteomodulin (OMD) protein or fragment of osteomodulin (OMD) protein for use in the prognosis and/or diagnosis of osteoarthritis and/or subchondral bone sclerosis of mammals, preferably human individuals and a kit comprising said immunological binding partner.

An object of the present invention is to provide an anti-BMP10 antibody, and a therapeutic agent for hypertension and a hypertensive disease, containing the antibody as an active ingredient. The present invention relates to an anti-BMP10 monoclonal antibody or an antibody fragment thereof that binds to human BMP10 (bone morphogenetic protein 10). Further, the present invention relates to a therapeutic agent for hypertension and a hypertensive disease containing an antagonist for at least one of BMP10 and a BMP9/BMP10 heterodimer, a diagnostic agent or a pharmaceutical composition for a disease associated with human BMP10, an immunological detection method or a measurement method for human BMP10 using the antagonist, and use of the antagonist for producing a pharmaceutical composition for treating hypertension and a hypertensive disease.

Disclosed is a method of achieving optimal mammalian energy balance using forskolin on a particular physiological and developmental stage of the mammalian cellular system.

Methods and compositions are provided for the selective activation of a BMP-dependent response in certain cell types. Methods include identifying a ligand or ligand combinations as well as cell receptor profiles that result in selectively activating a ligand-dependent response through interactions with ligand receptors on a first cell type that do not activate the ligand-dependent response in a second cell type.

The present invention relates to an anti-GREM1 antagonist for use in a method for the treatment or prevention of a cancer in combination with an inhibitor of Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK signalling.

The finding that patients with Sjgren's syndrome exhibit a statistically significant increase in expression of BMP6 in the salivary gland relative to healthy control subjects is described. Also described is the finding that overexpression of BMP6 in the salivary glands of mice results in an increase in electrical potential across the salivary gland. Thus, methods of diagnosing a subject as having Sjgren's syndrome, or at risk for developing Sjgren's syndrome, by measuring the level of BMP6 expression in a salivary gland of a subject, measuring electrical potential in a salivary gland of a subject, or both, are disclosed. Also described are methods of treating a subject with Sjgren's syndrome by administering an agent that inhibits expression of BMP6 expression or activity. Further disclosed is the use of XIST and MECP2 as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for male Sjgren's syndrome patients.

The invention features methods of treating melanoma by modulating an activity of GDF6 in melanoma cells. In one aspect, the methods involve downregulating an activity of GDF6, for example, by using an anti-GDF6 binding molecule, such as an inactivating antibody. Another aspect features treating a subject by first screening for the presence of GDF6 and then treating the subject with an inhibitor of a GDF6 activity. Screening assays for identification of modulators of an activity of GDF6 are also featured.

The present invention relates to antagonists of GDF11, for use in the treatment of malignant hematological disease, such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The present invention also relates to a method for predicting the responsiveness of a patient affected with malignant haematological disease, such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia, to a chemotherapy treatment.

Some aspects of this disclosure provide methods and compositions for the treatment of cancer, for example, head and neck cancer, in a subject using ALK1 inhibitors, e.g., ALK1-ECD polypeptides, ALK1-Fc fusion proteins, or ALK1-inhibitory antibodies. In some embodiments, methods and compositions are provided for treating certain cancers with ALK1 inhibitors in combination with a chemotherapeutic platinum agent. In some embodiments, methods are provided for identifying whether a cancer in a subject will react to treatment with an ALK1 antagonist, either alone or in combination with a chemotherapeutic platinum agent, for example, based on a determination that the cancer or the subject is positive for human papilloma virus.