Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2

The Bcl-2 (Bcl is B-cell lymphocytic-leukaemia proto-oncogene) family comprises two groups of proteins with distinct functional biology in cell-fate signalling. Bcl-2 protein was the first member to be discovered and associated with drug resistance in human lymphomas. Since then a host of other prot...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Krishna, S., Low, I., Pervaiz, Shazib
Format: Journal Article
Published: Portland Press Ltd. 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51219
_version_ 1848758643485310976
author Krishna, S.
Low, I.
Pervaiz, Shazib
author_facet Krishna, S.
Low, I.
Pervaiz, Shazib
author_sort Krishna, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Bcl-2 (Bcl is B-cell lymphocytic-leukaemia proto-oncogene) family comprises two groups of proteins with distinct functional biology in cell-fate signalling. Bcl-2 protein was the first member to be discovered and associated with drug resistance in human lymphomas. Since then a host of other proteins such as Bcl-xL, Bcl-2A1 and Mcl-1 with similar anti-apoptotic functions have been identified. In contrast, the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins contain prototypic effector proteins such as Bax and Bak, and the BH3 (Bcl-2 homology)-only proteins comprising Bak, Bid, Bim, Puma and Noxa. A complex interplay between the association of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins with each other determines the sensitivity of cancer cells to drug-induced apoptosis. The canonical functional of Bcl-2 in terms of apoptosis inhibition is its ability to prevent mitochondrial permeabilization via inhibiting the translocation and oligomerization of proapoptotic proteins such as Bax; however, more recent evidence points to a novel mechanism of the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2. Overexpression of Bcl-2 increases mitochondrial oxygen consumption and in doing so generates a slight pro-oxidant intracellular milieu, which promotes genomic instability and blocks death signalling. However, in the wake of overt oxidative stress, Bcl-2 regulates cellular redox status thereby preventing excessive build-up of ROS (reactive oxygen species), which is detrimental to cells and tissues. Taken together, the canonical and non-canonical activities of Bcl-2 imply a critical involvement of this protein in the processes of tumour initiation and progression. In the present paper we review these functionally distinct outcomes of Bcl-2 expression with implications for the chemotherapeutic management of cancers. © The Authors Journal compilation © 2011 Biochemical Society.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:47:15Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-51219
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:47:15Z
publishDate 2011
publisher Portland Press Ltd.
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-512192017-09-13T15:34:50Z Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2 Krishna, S. Low, I. Pervaiz, Shazib The Bcl-2 (Bcl is B-cell lymphocytic-leukaemia proto-oncogene) family comprises two groups of proteins with distinct functional biology in cell-fate signalling. Bcl-2 protein was the first member to be discovered and associated with drug resistance in human lymphomas. Since then a host of other proteins such as Bcl-xL, Bcl-2A1 and Mcl-1 with similar anti-apoptotic functions have been identified. In contrast, the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins contain prototypic effector proteins such as Bax and Bak, and the BH3 (Bcl-2 homology)-only proteins comprising Bak, Bid, Bim, Puma and Noxa. A complex interplay between the association of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins with each other determines the sensitivity of cancer cells to drug-induced apoptosis. The canonical functional of Bcl-2 in terms of apoptosis inhibition is its ability to prevent mitochondrial permeabilization via inhibiting the translocation and oligomerization of proapoptotic proteins such as Bax; however, more recent evidence points to a novel mechanism of the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2. Overexpression of Bcl-2 increases mitochondrial oxygen consumption and in doing so generates a slight pro-oxidant intracellular milieu, which promotes genomic instability and blocks death signalling. However, in the wake of overt oxidative stress, Bcl-2 regulates cellular redox status thereby preventing excessive build-up of ROS (reactive oxygen species), which is detrimental to cells and tissues. Taken together, the canonical and non-canonical activities of Bcl-2 imply a critical involvement of this protein in the processes of tumour initiation and progression. In the present paper we review these functionally distinct outcomes of Bcl-2 expression with implications for the chemotherapeutic management of cancers. © The Authors Journal compilation © 2011 Biochemical Society. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51219 10.1042/BJ20101996 Portland Press Ltd. unknown
spellingShingle Krishna, S.
Low, I.
Pervaiz, Shazib
Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title_full Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title_fullStr Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title_full_unstemmed Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title_short Regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: Yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein Bcl-2
title_sort regulation of mitochondrial metabolism: yet another facet in the biology of the oncoprotein bcl-2
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/51219