Bcl-2-family proteins: the role of the BH3 domain in apoptosis.
Bcl-2-related proteins have come to occupy a prominent position in the realm of programmed cell death. Members of this fast-growing family are highly related in one or more specific regions, commonly referred to as Bcl-2 homology (BH) domains. BH domains contribute at multiple levels to the function of these proteins in cell death and survival. Particularly intriguing is the emergence of the BH3 domain as a potent 'death domain' and of a growing subclass of pro-apoptotic proteins with no similarity to Bcl-2 beyond their BH3 homology. Here, the authors classify proteins of the Bcl-2 family on the basis of function and domain organization, discuss the importance of the BH3 domain in protein-protein interactions and in cell death and provide possible explanations for the perceived redundancy in the expression of this subclass of death promoters.
Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ameeta@cs.uchicago.edu
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Kelekar
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Thompson
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001665:Binding Sites; D019281:Dimerization; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2