Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P10415 (Bcl-2)
 33,771 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The bcl-2 oncogene is activated as a consequence of the t(14;18) chromosomal translocation in human follicular lymphomas. Bcl-2 functions to inhibit apoptosis in a variety of in vitro and in vivo experiments, suggesting interference with a central mechanism of apoptosis. The bcl-2 protein is associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane, however, the biochemical function of bcl-2 is unknown. Transgenic mice which overexpress bcl-2 provide evidence for bcl-2's role in memory B cells and thymic education as an intracellular survival factor. Additional regulators of apoptosis, such as the p53 tumor suppressor gene, may be altered in human cancers as one step in tumorigenesis.
Semin Immunol 1992 Dec
PMID:The bcl-2 oncogene and apoptosis. 128 68

We have produced bcl-2 transgenic mice by using a construct which mimics the t(14;18) translocation in human follicular lymphomas. Although lymphoid tissues from all transgenic mice contained high levels of human Bcl-2 protein, transgene expression was differentially regulated within the B- and T-cell compartments of lines derived from various founder mice. We have characterized the phenotypes of two lines of bcl-2 transgenic mice (line 2 and line 6) in which bcl-2 transgene expression was restricted primarily to the T- or B-cell lineages, respectively. Analysis of line 6 lymphocytes revealed a polyclonal expansion of B cells, and these B cells exhibited prolonged survival in vitro. In line 2 mice, numbers of T cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissues were more moderately elevated despite enhanced T-cell survival in vitro. Line 2 transgenic mice also showed significantly increased proportions of thymocytes with a mature phenotype. Taken together, these findings suggest different roles for bcl-2 in the in vivo regulation of B- and T-cell development and homeostasis.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1992 Dec 01
PMID:Differential effects of Bcl-2 on T and B cells in transgenic mice. 145 23

The bcl2 protooncogene was originally discovered because of its involvement in t(14;18) chromosomal translocations frequently found in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The expression of this gene is reported to be highly tissue specific, with bcl2 mRNAs being readily detectable only in hematolymphoid tissues and brain. To explore the possible involvement of bcl2 in neural tumors, we surveyed a variety of tumor cell lines for the presence of the p26-BCL2 protein by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting methods. Very high levels of BCL2 protein were found in three of nine neuroblastoma (NB) cell lines examined; these levels of p26-BCL2 were comparable to lymphoma cell lines that contain a t(14;18). Despite the impressive relative amounts of BCL2 protein, however, no structural alterations or changes in the methylation status of bcl2 genes were detected in these NB cell lines by conventional Southern blotting. Of the other NB cell lines surveyed, three contained intermediate levels of BCL2 and another three cell lines had little or no detectable BCL2 protein, raising the possibility that determination of relative levels of BCL2 protein may help to segregate neuroblastomas into groups with different biological and clinical characteristics. BCL2 protein levels were not influenced by induction of neuronal differentiation with nerve growth factor in two of the two cell lines examined [SH-SY5Y (high BCL2); GICAN (low BCL2)] and did not correlate with N-MYC gene amplification or expression of nerve growth factor receptors. NB cell lines that contained little or no detectable BCL2 protein, however, tended to contain significant proportions of flat epithelioid cells, whereas bcl2-expressing cell lines were composed primarily of neuronal-like cells, suggesting that expression of this protooncogene correlates with the differentiation characteristics of these tumor cell lines. In addition to NBs, lower levels of BCL2 protein were also found in a variety of other neural crest-derived tumors and tumor cell lines, including some neuroepitheliomas, Ewing's sarcomas, neurofibromas, and melanomas. With regard to tumors of central nervous system origin, bcl2 expression was absent from most medulloblastomas but was detected at moderate to low levels in a retinoblastoma and some glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. Taken together, these findings imply that bcl2 protooncogene expression is differentially regulated within the various lineages of cells that give rise to the nervous system.
Cancer Res 1991 Dec 15
PMID:Differential expression of bcl2 protooncogene in neuroblastoma and other human tumor cell lines of neural origin. 174 26

The t(14;18) translocation, found in most human follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs), juxtaposes the Bcl-2 oncogene at 18q21 with the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus at 14q32. As a result, the Bcl-2 protein is markedly overproduced. Most of the breakpoints on chromosome 18 cluster at one of two sites, the major breakpoint region (mbr) and the minor cluster region (mcr). Recently, others used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the t(14;18) mbr in 32% of specimens diagnosed as Hodgkin's disease (HD). In an attempt to confirm and extend those observations the authors used PCR to assay for both the mbr and mcr in HD specimens diagnosed at their institution and examined the specimens for Bcl-2 overproduction. The authors subjected the DNAs from 28 well-characterized HD tumors of 26 patients to PCR analyses using primers specific for the t(14;18) mbr and mcr breakpoints. Based on various PCR controls, the authors ascertained that 26 of the 28 specimens contained amplifiable template DNA. Southern blotting of the amplification products showed that none of the 26 HD DNAs had detectable t(14;18) mbr or mcr breakpoints. By admixing small amounts of t(14;18)-bearing NHL DNA with HD DNA samples, the authors directly demonstrated that the sensitivity of the PCR assays was adequate for the molecular detection of t(14;18)-bearing cells at a frequency comparable to that of Reed-Sternberg cells and their variants in HD. Immunohistochemical studies employing a highly specific anti-Bcl-2 antiserum under conditions optimized to detect t(14;18)-mediated overexpression of the Bcl-2 gene showed that the Reed-Sternberg cells and variants in all 19 HD tumors examined were negative for Bcl-2 immunostaining. In conclusion, the PCR and immunohistochemical data provided evidence that the t(14;18) translocation was not involved in the pathogenesis of the HD cases.
Am J Pathol 1991 Dec
PMID:Absence of t(14;18) major and minor breakpoints and of Bcl-2 protein overproduction in Reed-Sternberg cells of Hodgkin's disease. 175 May

The proto-oncogene Bcl-2 is normally expressed in B lineage cells in a stage specific manner and extends cell survival. Deregulated Bcl-2 expression has been shown to cause a major expansion in surface IgM and IgD positive B cells. In this report, the influence of deregulated expression of Bcl-2 on the VH repertoire of B cells was studied. This was accomplished by stimulating B cells from both adult and fetal Bcl-2-Ig transgenic mice and their normal littermates using the polyclonal activator lipopolysaccharide. Activated cells were then analyzed by in situ hybridization using radiolabeled C mu and VH gene probes. The D-proximal VH families 7183 and Q52 were preferentially expressed in the adult transgenic mice compared to their normal littermates. VH 7183 and Q52 were also over-represented in fetal transgenic mice but not to a greater extent than that observed with normal fetuses. These results demonstrate that the overproduction of Bcl-2, which prolongs cell survival independent of affecting proliferation, substantially alters the VH gene repertoire.
Int Immunol 1991 Dec
PMID:Skewed B cell VH family repertoire in Bcl-2-Ig transgenic mice. 177 25

Immunohistochemical and molecular genetic studies were performed on tissues involved by follicular lymphomas that at some point in their course showed a lack of detectable surface or cytoplasmic immunoglobulins (Ig). The variable nature of Ig expression in these lymphomas was evidenced by three tumors biopsied from two different sites that showed an Ig-negative phenotype in one biopsy versus an Ig-positive phenotype in the other. The B lineage derivation of Ig-negative follicular lymphomas was confirmed by the presence of Ig heavy and light chain gene rearrangements in eight of eight lymphomas tested. In a way similar to Ig-expressing follicular lymphomas, the Ig-negative tumors were characterized by bcl-2 gene rearrangements (seven of eight) and overexpression of the Bcl-2 protein (eight out of nine). In two of the three lymphomas with Ig-positive and Ig-negative tumor cell populations, the clonal relationship of the Ig-expressing and nonexpressing cells was established by demonstration of identical t(14; 18) DNA rearrangements. The findings demonstrated that the variability of Ig expression in follicular lymphomas reflects the phenotypic heterogeneity of these tumors and is not a manifestation of separate clonal origins.
Am J Pathol 1989 Dec
PMID:Variability of immunoglobulin expression in follicular lymphoma. An immunohistologic and molecular genetic study. 248 Jul 13

A small (2.8-kilobase, kb) major breakpoint region localized to segment 18q21 rearranges in greater than 70% of t(14;18)(q32;q21) lymphomas. This rearrangement interrupts the Bcl-2 gene and introduces it into the Ig locus at 14q32. The rearrangement between the joining region (JH) of Ig on chromosome 14 and the 18q21 region creates a translocation-specific DNA rearrangement. We generated probes that distinguish the 14;18 juncture on the derivative (der) 14 and der (18) chromosomes, providing a molecular approach to t(14;18) identification. Approximately 60% of unselected follicular lymphomas, 20% of diffuse large cell lymphomas, and 50% of adult undifferentiated non-Burkitt lymphomas demonstrated 14;18 rearrangements within the major breakpoint region. Examination of DNA for 14;18 rearrangements resolved the identity of 14q+ chromosomes in two patient's cells that lacked an obvious reciprocal partner. Identification of the exact restriction fragments that mediate translocations complements routine cytogenetics. The detection of DNA rearrangements does not require dividing cells or the presence of an identifiable reciprocal partner and can detect clonal translocation rearrangements when the neoplastic cells are only a minority of all cells present.
Blood 1987 Dec
PMID:Refinement of lymphoma cytogenetics by the chromosome 18q21 major breakpoint region. 282 37

Incubation with the Bcl-2 antibody before fixation of tissues allowed good localization of the antigenic determinant. We showed that the Bcl-2 gene product in centroblastic-centrocytic lymphoma is mainly localized on the outer mitochondrial membrane and, to a lesser degree, on the nuclear envelope. No significant staining was found in other cytoplasmic domains. Careful examination also revealed that gold particles did not recognize an integral membrane epitope, but an antigenic determinant localized at a short distance from the cytoplasmic side of the membrane itself. This observation suggests that, by interacting with other cytoplasmic proteins, Bcl-2 plays some role in the cytoplasmic machinery involved in the regulation of programmed cell death.
Exp Cell Res 1995 Dec
PMID:Localization of the Bcl-2 protein to the outer mitochondrial membrane by electron microscopy. 749 35

The survival of T lymphocytes is tightly controlled during development. Here, we show that Bcl-xL, a protein homologue of Bcl-2, is highly regulated in the thymus in a pattern different than that of Bcl-2. The maximum expression was in CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, a developmental stage where Bcl-2 is downregulated. To assess the role of Bcl-xL in thymocyte apoptosis, we generated mice overexpressing an E mu-bcl-x transgene within the T cell compartment. Constitutive expression of Bcl-xL resulted in accumulation of thymocytes and mature T cells in lymphoid organs. Thymocytes overexpressing Bcl-xL exhibited increased viability in vitro and were resistant to apoptosis induced by different signals, including glucocorticoid, gamma irradiation, calcium ionophore, and CD3 cross-linking. However, Bcl-xL was unable to block clonal deletion of thymocytes reactive with self-superantigens or H-Y antigen. These studies demonstrate that Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, two functionally related proteins, are regulated independently during T cell development. In contrast to Bcl-2, which has been implicated in the maintenance of mature T cells, Bcl-xL appears to provide a survival signal for the maintenance of more immature CD4+CD8+ thymocytes before positive selection.
J Exp Med 1995 Dec 01
PMID:Bcl-XL displays restricted distribution during T cell development and inhibits multiple forms of apoptosis but not clonal deletion in transgenic mice. 750 43

We examined the effect of several inhibitors/activators of various protein kinases on the proliferation and apoptosis of nontransformed rat coronary vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC). As expected, all the compounds (calphostin C, KT5720, KT5823, verapamil, W7, and dibutyryl-cAMP) inhibited SMC proliferation, as judged by [3H]thymidine incorporation. Three (calphostin C, verapamil and dibutyryl-cAMP) of the six compounds caused occurrence of the classical apoptotic morphology in SMC. The effect of calphostin C, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, was examined in more detail due to the known involvement of this kinase in regulation of apoptosis in a variety of cell types. In SMC cultures exposed for 1, 2, and 3 days to 0.1 mumol/L calphostin C, 7 +/- 1%, 32 +/- 3%, and 29 +/- 3% of cells underwent apoptosis, respectively, as assessed by cell morphology (control cultures had 1 to 3% of apoptotic cells). The effect of calphostin C was transient in that on day 6 following exposure to this compound the number of apoptotic cells declined to control values. Simultaneous with the induction of apoptotic morphology in SMC, a decline was seen (within 24 hours) in expression of the oncoprotein Bcl-2 in morphologically nonapoptotic SMC. An altered distribution of Bcl-2 was seen in the apoptotic cells. The calphostin C-induced generation of apoptotic cells in SMC cultures and the decline/alteration of Bcl-2 expression were not accompanied by degradation of DNA into nucleosomal fragments. In conclusion, normal, nontransformed rat coronary artery vascular SMC undergo apoptosis when exposed to an inhibitor of protein kinase C (calphostin C), to a calcium channel blocker (verapamil), and to a stimulator of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (dibutyryl-cAMP). The induction of apoptosis by the inhibitor of protein kinase C is accompanied by alterations in the Bcl-2 expression but not by DNA fragmentation.
Am J Pathol 1994 Dec
PMID:Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. Protein kinase C and oncoprotein Bcl-2 are involved in regulation of apoptosis in non-transformed rat vascular smooth muscle cells. 752 16


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>