Abstract
A novel oncogene-derived protein, Bcl-2, functions as a repressor of cell death in a genetic pathway of cellular suicide that appears to be common to all multicellular animals. A related protein that promotes cell death, Bax, wrestles with Bcl-2 through conserved motifs, BH1 and BH2, establishing a set point for these deaths. In Bcl-2-deficient mice, the ratio of these molecules is reset, resulting in massive cell death in several cell types.
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Apoptosis / genetics
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Apoptosis / physiology*
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Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology
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Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
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DNA Viruses / genetics
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Mammals / genetics
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Mice
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Mice, Transgenic
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Models, Biological
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Multigene Family
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / physiology*
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
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Reactive Oxygen Species
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Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
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Sequence Alignment
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Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
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bcl-2-Associated X Protein
Substances
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Bax protein, mouse
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
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Reactive Oxygen Species
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Recombinant Fusion Proteins
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bcl-2-Associated X Protein