The Bcl-2 protein family: sensors and checkpoints for life-or-death decisions.
Members of the Bcl-2 family are crucial integrators of survival and death signals in higher eukaryotes. Although recent studies have provided novel and quite unexpected insights into the mechanisms by which these proteins might issue life permits or death sentences in cells, we are still on the way to fully understand their modes of action. This review provides a snapshot on where we are on this journey and how we may exploit our knowledge on this family of proteins to unveil the mysteries of immune regulation.
Borner
Christoph
C
Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany. borner@ukl.uni-freiburg.de
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D020169:Caspases / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D020169:Caspases