title: Completing the family portrait of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins: crystal structure of human Bfl-1 in complex with Bim.
abstract: Evasion of apoptosis is recognized as a characteristic of malignant growth. Anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family members have therefore emerged as potential therapeutic targets due to their critical role in proliferating cancer cells. Here, we present the crystal structure of Bfl-1, the last anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member to be structurally characterized, in complex with a peptide corresponding to the BH3 region of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim. The structure reveals distinct features at the peptide-binding site, likely to define the binding specificity for pro-apoptotic proteins. Superposition of the Bfl-1:Bim complex with that of Mcl-1:Bim reveals a significant local plasticity of hydrophobic interactions contributed by the Bim peptide, likely to be the basis for the multi specificity of Bim for anti-apoptotic proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institute, Pär Nordlund, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Welin
authors.forename: Lari
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lehtiö
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flodin
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trésaugues
authors.forename: Tetyana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kotenyova
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Pär
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nordlund
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017209:Apoptosis; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D000072224:Bcl-2-Like Protein 11; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C096816:BCL2-related protein A1; C000606775:BCL2L11 protein, human; D000072224:Bcl-2-Like Protein 11; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2