title: Bok, Bcl-2-related Ovarian Killer, Is Cell Cycle-regulated and Sensitizes to Stress-induced Apoptosis.
abstract: Bok/Mtd (Bcl-2-related ovarian killer/Matador) is considered a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. Although identified in 1997, little is known about its biological role. We have previously demonstrated that Bok mRNA is up-regulated following E2F1 overexpression. In the current work, we demonstrate that Bok RNA is low in quiescent cells and rises upon serum stimulation. To determine the mechanism underlying this regulation, we cloned and characterized the mouse Bok promoter. We find that the mouse promoter contains a conserved E2F binding site (-43 to -49) and that a Bok promoter-driven luciferase reporter is activated by serum stimulation dependent on this site. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrate that endogenous E2F1 and E2F3 associate with the Bok promoter in vivo. Surprisingly, we find that H1299 cells can stably express high levels of exogenous Bok protein. However, these cells are highly sensitive to chemotherapeutic drug treatment. Taken together these results demonstrate that Bok represents a cell cycle-regulated pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, which may predispose growing cells to chemotherapeutic treatment.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology, Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Michele A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Glozak
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: W Douglas
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Cress
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002453:Cell Cycle; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: C503049:BOK protein, human; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012333:RNA, Messenger