Adams J M, Cory S
Walter and Eliza Institute of Medical Research, Post Office Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria 3050, Australia.
Science. 1998 Aug 28;281(5381):1322-6. doi: 10.1126/science.281.5381.1322.
Bcl-2 and related cytoplasmic proteins are key regulators of apoptosis, the cell suicide program critical for development, tissue homeostasis, and protection against pathogens. Those most similar to Bcl-2 promote cell survival by inhibiting adapters needed for activation of the proteases (caspases) that dismantle the cell. More distant relatives instead promote apoptosis, apparently through mechanisms that include displacing the adapters from the pro-survival proteins. Thus, for many but not all apoptotic signals, the balance between these competing activities determines cell fate. Bcl-2 family members are essential for maintenance of major organ systems, and mutations affecting them are implicated in cancer.
Bcl-2及相关的细胞质蛋白是细胞凋亡的关键调节因子，细胞凋亡是一种对发育、组织稳态及抵御病原体至关重要的细胞自杀程序。那些与Bcl-2最相似的蛋白通过抑制激活分解细胞的蛋白酶（半胱天冬酶）所需的衔接蛋白来促进细胞存活。而关系较远的同源蛋白则相反，显然是通过包括将衔接蛋白从促生存蛋白上置换下来等机制来促进细胞凋亡。因此，对于许多（但并非所有）凋亡信号而言，这些相互竞争的活性之间的平衡决定了细胞命运。Bcl-2家族成员对于维持主要器官系统至关重要，影响它们的突变与癌症有关。
