PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Thomenius, Michael J.
AU  - Distelhorst, Clark W.
TI  - Bcl-2 on the endoplasmic reticulum: protecting the mitochondria from a distance
AID  - 10.1242/jcs.00829
DP  - 2003 Nov 15
TA  - Journal of Cell Science
PG  - 4493--4499
VI  - 116
IP  - 22
4099  - http://jcs.biologists.org/content/116/22/4493.short
4100  - http://jcs.biologists.org/content/116/22/4493.full
SO  - J. Cell Sci.2003 Nov 15; 116
AB  - Bcl-2 has been described both as an inhibitor of programmed cell death and as an inhibitor of mitochondrial dysfunction during apoptosis. It is still not clear what biochemical activity of Bcl-2 is responsible for its function, but increasing evidence indicates that a functional activity of Bcl-2 on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protects mitochondria under diverse circumstances. Indeed, an emerging hypothesis is that, during apoptosis, the Bcl-2 family regulates ER-to-mitochondrion communication by BH3-only proteins and calcium ions and thereby triggers mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death.