BAX

1
BAX

• By Page Spiess
• Biochemistry II
• 12 May 2003

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Apoptosis

• Results in rapid cell
  death and phagocytosis
  of the cell
• Stroke, autoimmune disease,
  neurodegenerative disease, muscular
  dystrophy, heart disease, and
  cancer

www.lbl.gov/.../images/2002/ Sept-27-2002/
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Bcl-2 Family

• members typically have 7-8 alpha helices
• found on surface of mitochondria
• contains pro- and anti-apoptotic subgroups
• BH3 ligand domain and dimerization

www.brushwithscience.com/
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Bax

• 21 kD protein
• encoded by six exons
• Normally found in cytosol
• Promotes the release of cytochrome C

middy.nhlbi.nih.gov/images/ Bax_Bcl-xl.jpg
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Why Bax?

• Can trigger apoptosis in multiple cell types.
• Cells lacking Bax cannot be killed
• Bax mutations are present in the majority of
  tumors

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Breast Tumor
www.lbl.gov/Education/HGP-images/
breast-tumor.gif
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Resources

• Gross A. et al. (1999) Bcl-2 family members and
  the mitochondria in apoptosis. Genes
  Development 13 18991911.
• Kelekar A. et al. (1998) Bcl-2 family proteins
  the role of the BH3 domain in apoptosis. Trends
  in Cell Biology 8, 324330.
• Lester, Greg (2001). Chemo, radiation trick
  cancer cells to self-destruct. UniSci, 18 June
  2001.
• Lewis, J., G.A. Oyler, K. Ueno, Y.R. Fannjiang,
  B.N. Chau, J. Vornow, S.J. Korsmeyer, S. Zou,
  J.M. Hardwich (1999). Inhibition of
  virus-induced neuronal apoptosis by Bax. Nt.
  Med. 5(7)832-5.
• Middleton, G., G Nunez, A.M. Davis (1996). Bax
  promotes neuronal survival and antagnizes the
  survival effects of neurotrophic factors.
  Development. 122(2)695-701.
• Motoshi S., R. J. Youle, N. Tjandra, Structure
  of Bax Coregulation of Dimer Formation and
  Intracellular Localization, Cell, 103, 645-654
  (2000).
• Oltvai, Z.N., C.L. Milliman, S.J. Korsmeyer
  (1993). Bcl-2 heterodimerizes in vivo with a
  conserved homolog, Bax, that accelerates
  programmed cell death. Cell. 74(4)609-19.
• OconoDiagnosic Laboratory. Bax. 3 March 2003.
  (http//www.oncodox.com/markers/bax.htm)
• Reed, J.C. (Feb. 2001). ADB detail of domain
  Bax. Apoptosis Data Bank. (http//www.apoptosis-
  db.org/cgi-bin/domain.pl?d_id11)