(Igaki et al., 2000) unveils the long anticipated, missing piece of the apoptosome in flies. On page 703 in this issue, in a paper by Colussi et al., Ku-mur, Richardson, and colleagues characterize the first Drosophila members of the Bcl-2 gene family whose function is important for programmed cell death (PCD). The founding member of this gene family was identified as the proto-oncogene upregul...

BH3 profiling measures the propensity of transformed cells to undergo intrinsic apoptosis and is determined by exposing cells to BH3-mimicking peptides. We hypothesized that basal levels of prosurvival BCL-2 family proteins may modulate the predictive power of BH3 profiling and termed it mitochondrial profiling. We investigated the correlation between cell sensitivity to apoptogenic agents and ...

Bcl-B protein is an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family protein that contains all the four BH (Bcl-2 homology) domains (BH1, BH2, BH3 and BH4) and a predicted C-terminal transmembrane domain. Our previous results showed that Bcl-B binds Bax and suppresses apoptosis induced by over-expression of Bax; however, Bcl-B does not bind or suppress Bak. To explore the molecular basis for the diffe...

The Bcl-2 family of proteins consists of both antiapoptotic and proapoptotic factors, which share sequence homology within conserved regions known as Bcl-2 homology domains. Interactions between Bcl-2 family members, as well as with other proteins, regulate apoptosis through control of mitochondrial membrane permeability and release of cytochrome c. Here we identify a novel regulator of apoptos...

The paper aimed to investigate the effects of up-regulation and down-regulation Mir-299-3p on proliferation, migration, invasion apoptosis lung adenocarcinoma cell line H1299, preliminarily explore mechanism regulating biological behavior cells. inhibitor mimics were transfected into transfection efficiency was measured by fluorescence microscopy. successfully cells detected invasion, apoptosis...

Background: In this study we aimed to investigate the distribution and expression level of pro anti-apoptotic proteins, Bax Bcl-2, in different developmental stages ovarian follicles any relations between these proteins follicle atresia. Materials Methods: For that purpose, bilateral 16 ovaries adult 8 mice were received tissues fixed 10% neutral buffered formalin. Routine tissue processing pro...

Whether cells live or die by apoptosis when confronted with diverse stresses, including radiation and chemotherapy, is determined by interactions between opposing factions of the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Bcl-2 prevents apoptosis, as do Bcl-xL, Bcl-w, Mcl-1, and A1, but other close relatives Bax and Bak instead provoke apoptosis. Stress signals induce distant relatives known as BH3-only protein...

Introduction: Ischemia leads to loss of neurons by apoptosis in specific brain regions, especially in the hippocampus. The purpose of this study was investigating the effects of exercise preconditioning on expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 proteins in hippocampal CA1 neurons after induction of cerebral ischemia. Methods: Male rats weighing 260-300 g were randomly allocated into three gro...

Background: Experimental cryptorchidism is a common model for examining the expression and function of heat-induced spermatogenesis related genes in testis. In this study the expression of genes & proteins thatinvolved in programmed cell death after treatment of cryptorchidism was examined. Materials and Methods: To induce bilateral cryptorchid model immature mice were anesthetized and a small ...