title: bcl-2, a novel regulator of cell death.
abstract: The bcl-2 gene product, a 25 kDa membrane protein residing at mitochondrial, microsomal and nuclear membrane sites within many cell types, is a broad and potent inhibitor of cell death by apoptosis. A family of bcl-2-related genes with death-inhibiting or -promoting actvities has recently been described, indicating a potentially quite complex cell death regulatory network at the level of gene expression and protein-protein interactions. The function of bcl-2 may be to regulate a final common pathway in apoptosis. Current hypotheses suggest that oxidative stress, specific proteolytic activity or cell cycle control may be common elements in apoptosis through which bcl-2 exerts its survival function. Based on the extent to which elements of apoptotic pathways overlap with non-apoptotic cellular functions, the physiological role of bcl-2 may also extend to other cellular processes such as differentiation and proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hockenbery
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002453:Cell Cycle; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2