Bax spontaneously kills cells in the presence of a BH3-only protein that occupies Bcl-2 (left and center), but not if the BH3-only protein cannot bind to Bcl-2 (right).

HUANG/AAAS

Our cells have a death wish, say Simon Willis, Jerry Adams, David Huang, and colleagues (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Australia). The apoptotic cascade, they show, is poised to destroy mammalian cells unless pro-survival proteins intervene.

The apoptotic executioners are Bax and Bak, which seem to bring about death by poking holes in mitochondria. But even thriving cells have plenty of Bax and Bak, suggesting these proteins are either inhibited in healthy cells or must be activated for apoptosis.

The balance between cellular life and death is shifted by proapoptotic BH3-only proteins and pro-survival Bcl-2 proteins. When certain BH3-only proteins were shown to bind to Bax, many researchers concluded that this interaction activated Bax. Liposome...

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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