We have assessed during B cell development, the regulation and function of bcl-x, a member of the bcl-2 family of apoptosis regulatory genes. Here we show that Bcl-xL, a product of bcl-x, is expressed in pre-B cells but downregulated at the immature and mature stages of B cell development. Bcl-xL but not Bcl-2 is rapidly induced in peripheral B cells upon surface immunoglobulin M (IgM) cross-li...

Bcl-2 family proteins are key regulators for cellular homeostasis in response to apoptotic stimuli. Bcl-xL, an antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family member, undergoes conformational transitions, which leads to two conformational states: the cytoplasmic and membrane-bound. Here we present the crystal and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) structures of Bcl-xL treated with the mild detergent n-Octyl β-D-Ma...

A series of Bcl-x(L)/Bak antagonists, based on a terephthalamide scaffold, was designed to mimic the alpha-helical region of the Bak peptide. These molecules showed favorable in vitro activities in disrupting the Bcl-x(L)/Bak BH3 domain complex (terephthalamides 9 and 26, K(i) = 0.78 +/- 0.07 and 1.85 +/- 0.32 microM, respectively). Extensive structure-affinity studies demonstrated a correlatio...

Since the bi-allelic inactivation of both neurofibromin 1 (NF1) gene alleles (NF1(-/-)) in Schwann cells (SCs) is common in both benign plexiform neurofibromas (PNs) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), other genetic alterations in SCs may be required for tumor progression of PNs to MPNSTs. We found that the anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL...

The cellular concentration of Bcl-xL is among the most important determinants of treatment response and overall prognosis in a broad range of tumors as well as an important determinant of the cellular response to several forms of tissue injury. We and others have previously shown that human Bcl-xL undergoes deamidation at two asparaginyl residues and that DNA-damaging antineoplastic agents as w...

It has been suggested that genes that regulate apoptotic cell death may play an important role in determining the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy. We have recently cloned a member of the bcl-2 family, bcl-x. To test whether bcl-XL expression affects the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy, we have created stable cell lines overexpressing bcl-XL and have tested these cells for ...

The aim of our study was an evaluation of Bcl-xl and Bak protein expressions in optic nerve axons in eyeballs after severe injury and absolute glaucoma. We examined a series of 41 eyeballs, which were enucleated, following extensive injury and a series of 19 eyeballs from patients with absolute glaucoma. The immunohistochemical reaction was performed, using antibodies against human Bcl-xl and B...

The development of acquired resistance to chemotherapy is a major obstacle in the successful treatment of cancer. In breast cancer cells, B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) is involved in the development of resistance to various chemotherapeutic agents; therefore, preliminary biological prediction was performed to identify a putative binding site for let-7b in the 3'-untranslated region (UTR)...

The proteins of the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family are important regulators of apoptosis under normal and pathological conditions. Chemical compounds that block the antiapoptotic proteins of this family have been introduced, such as 4-[4-[(4'-Chloro[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-yl)methyl]-1-piperazinyl]-N-[[4-[[(1R)-3-(dimethylamino)-1-[(phenylthio)methyl]propyl]amino]-3-nitrophenyl]sulfonyl]benzamide (A...

While the ectopic expression of the anti-apoptoticprotein Bcl-2 has been shown to significantly increaseboth cell viability and antibody production in batchculture, some cell lines are refractory to thesemanipulations. For example, the NS/O and theP3x63Ag8.653 murine myelomas, which express highendogenous levels of the Bcl-2 homologue Bcl-xL, areboth resistant to the anti-apoptotic effect of Bc...