The association of Aiolos transcription factor and Bcl-xL is involved in the control of apoptosis.

We have analyzed the mechanism implicated in the control of the anti-apoptotic role of Bcl-xL. We show that IL-4 deprivation induces apoptosis, but does not modulate Bcl-xL expression. Because Bcl-xL does not promote cell survival in the absence of IL-4, we investigate the mechanism by which Bcl-xL was unable to inhibit apoptosis. Using yeast two-hybrid system, coimmunoprecipitation, and indirect immunofluorescence techniques, we found that Bcl-xL interacts with the transcription factor Aiolos in IL-4-stimulated cells, increasing upon IL-4 deprivation. IL-4 does not promote translocation of Aiolos or Bcl-xL, but induces tyrosine phosphorylation of Aiolos, which is required for dissociation from Bcl-xL. Transfection experiments confirm that cells overexpressing Bcl-xL are able to prevent apoptosis in the absence of IL-4. On the contrary, cells that overexpress Bcl-xL and Aiolos are unable to block apoptosis in the absence of IL-4. We propose a model for the regulation of the Bcl-xL anti-apoptotic role via Aiolos.