| Structural highlights
Function
[B2CL1_HUMAN] Potent inhibitor of cell death. Inhibits activation of caspases (By similarity). Appears to regulate cell death by blocking the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) by binding to it and preventing the release of the caspase activator, CYC1, from the mitochondrial membrane. Also acts as a regulator of G2 checkpoint and progression to cytokinesis during mitosis.[1] [2] Isoform Bcl-X(S) promotes apoptosis.[3] [4] [BAX_HUMAN] Accelerates programmed cell death by binding to, and antagonizing the apoptosis repressor BCL2 or its adenovirus homolog E1B 19k protein. Under stress conditions, undergoes a conformation change that causes translocation to the mitochondrion membrane, leading to the release of cytochrome c that then triggers apoptosis. Promotes activation of CASP3, and thereby apoptosis.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Pro-survival members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins restrain the pro-apoptotic activity of Bax, either directly through interactions with Bax or indirectly by sequestration of activator BH3-only proteins, or both. Mutations in Bax that promote apoptosis can provide insight into how Bax is regulated. Here, we describe crystal structures of the pro-survival proteins Mcl-1 and Bcl-x(L) in complex with a 34-mer peptide from Bax that encompasses its BH3 domain. These structures reveal canonical interactions between four signature hydrophobic amino acids from the BaxBH3 domain and the BH3-binding groove of the pro-survival proteins. In both structures, Met-74 from the Bax peptide engages with the BH3-binding groove in a fifth hydrophobic interaction. Various Bax Met-74 mutants disrupt interactions between Bax and all pro-survival proteins, but these Bax mutants retain pro-apoptotic activity. Bax/Bak-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblast cells reconstituted with several Bax Met-74 mutants are more sensitive to the BH3 mimetic compound ABT-737 as compared with cells expressing wild-type Bax. Furthermore, the cells expressing Bax Met-74 mutants are less viable in colony assays even in the absence of an external apoptotic stimulus. These results support a model in which direct restraint of Bax by pro-survival Bcl-2 proteins is a barrier to apoptosis.
Mutation to Bax beyond the BH3 domain disrupts interactions with pro-survival proteins and promotes apoptosis.,Czabotar PE, Lee EF, Thompson GV, Wardak AZ, Fairlie WD, Colman PM J Biol Chem. 2011 Mar 4;286(9):7123-31. Epub 2011 Jan 3. PMID:21199865[11]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Terrano DT, Upreti M, Chambers TC. Cyclin-dependent kinase 1-mediated Bcl-xL/Bcl-2 phosphorylation acts as a functional link coupling mitotic arrest and apoptosis. Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Feb;30(3):640-56. doi: 10.1128/MCB.00882-09. Epub 2009 Nov, 16. PMID:19917720 doi:10.1128/MCB.00882-09
- ↑ Wang J, Beauchemin M, Bertrand R. Bcl-xL phosphorylation at Ser49 by polo kinase 3 during cell cycle progression and checkpoints. Cell Signal. 2011 Dec;23(12):2030-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2011.07.017. Epub, 2011 Aug 5. PMID:21840391 doi:10.1016/j.cellsig.2011.07.017
- ↑ Terrano DT, Upreti M, Chambers TC. Cyclin-dependent kinase 1-mediated Bcl-xL/Bcl-2 phosphorylation acts as a functional link coupling mitotic arrest and apoptosis. Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Feb;30(3):640-56. doi: 10.1128/MCB.00882-09. Epub 2009 Nov, 16. PMID:19917720 doi:10.1128/MCB.00882-09
- ↑ Wang J, Beauchemin M, Bertrand R. Bcl-xL phosphorylation at Ser49 by polo kinase 3 during cell cycle progression and checkpoints. Cell Signal. 2011 Dec;23(12):2030-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2011.07.017. Epub, 2011 Aug 5. PMID:21840391 doi:10.1016/j.cellsig.2011.07.017
- ↑ Oltvai ZN, Milliman CL, Korsmeyer SJ. Bcl-2 heterodimerizes in vivo with a conserved homolog, Bax, that accelerates programmed cell death. Cell. 1993 Aug 27;74(4):609-19. PMID:8358790
- ↑ Schmitt E, Paquet C, Beauchemin M, Dever-Bertrand J, Bertrand R. Characterization of Bax-sigma, a cell death-inducing isoform of Bax. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2000 Apr 21;270(3):868-79. PMID:10772918 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/bbrc.2000.2537
- ↑ Chittenden T, Flemington C, Houghton AB, Ebb RG, Gallo GJ, Elangovan B, Chinnadurai G, Lutz RJ. A conserved domain in Bak, distinct from BH1 and BH2, mediates cell death and protein binding functions. EMBO J. 1995 Nov 15;14(22):5589-96. PMID:8521816
- ↑ Zhang H, Kim JK, Edwards CA, Xu Z, Taichman R, Wang CY. Clusterin inhibits apoptosis by interacting with activated Bax. Nat Cell Biol. 2005 Sep;7(9):909-15. Epub 2005 Aug 21. PMID:16113678 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncb1291
- ↑ Gavathiotis E, Suzuki M, Davis ML, Pitter K, Bird GH, Katz SG, Tu HC, Kim H, Cheng EH, Tjandra N, Walensky LD. BAX activation is initiated at a novel interaction site. Nature. 2008 Oct 23;455(7216):1076-81. PMID:18948948 doi:10.1038/nature07396
- ↑ Czabotar PE, Lee EF, Thompson GV, Wardak AZ, Fairlie WD, Colman PM. Mutation to Bax beyond the BH3 domain disrupts interactions with pro-survival proteins and promotes apoptosis. J Biol Chem. 2011 Mar 4;286(9):7123-31. Epub 2011 Jan 3. PMID:21199865 doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.161281
- ↑ Czabotar PE, Lee EF, Thompson GV, Wardak AZ, Fairlie WD, Colman PM. Mutation to Bax beyond the BH3 domain disrupts interactions with pro-survival proteins and promotes apoptosis. J Biol Chem. 2011 Mar 4;286(9):7123-31. Epub 2011 Jan 3. PMID:21199865 doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.161281
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