Abstract
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an essential process for normal embryonic development, maintaining homeostasis in adult tissues, and suppressing carcinogenesis. The bcl-2 protein, discovered in association with follicular lymphoma, plays a prominent role in controlling apoptosis and enhancing cell survival in response to diverse apoptotic stimuli. The evolutionarily conserved bcl-2 protein is now recognized as being a member of a family of related proteins which can be categorized as death agonists or death antagonists. Progress in defining the role of bcl-2 and its family members in regulating apoptosis is rapidly advancing. This review describes, in detail, current bcl-2 family members and the possible mechanisms of function which allow the bcl-2 family of proteins to either promote or suppress cell death.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 75-105 |
Number of pages | 31 |
Journal | Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology |
Volume | 62 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1998 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Bioengineering
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology