Description
Product Characteristics: Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a well-documented phenomenon in many cellular systems. It plays a key role in tissue and organ development as well as in adult tissues during cell turnover. Apoptosis can be induced by a variety of internal and external stimuli including growth factor deprivation, cytokine treatment, antigen-receptor engagement, cell-cell interactions, irradiation and glucocorticoid treatment. Bax is a member of the Bcl-2 family of apoptosis-associated proteins and, although it is similar in structure to Bcl-2, Bax exerts a pro-apoptotic rather than an anti-apoptotic effect on cells. Bax targets mitochondrial membranes, inducing mitochondrial damage and subsequent cell death in a caspase-independent manner, presumably via their ion channel-forming activity. These channels may then function to promote a mitochondrial permeability transition or to puncture the outer mitochondrial membrane. In addition to forming homodimer, Bax can heterodimerize with Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL proteins. This heterodimerization between pro- and anti-apoptotic family members may serve a titration function and act as a sensor for the programmed cell death program.
Target Information: The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the BCL2 protein family. BCL2 family members form hetero- or homodimers and act as anti- or pro-apoptotic regulators that are involved in a wide variety of cellular activities. This protein forms a heterodimer with BCL2, and functions as an apoptotic activator. This protein is reported to interact with, and increase the opening of, the mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), which leads to the loss in membrane potential and the release of cytochrome c. The expression of this gene is regulated by the tumor suppressor P53 and has been shown to be involved in P53-mediated apoptosis. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants, which encode different isoforms, have been reported for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]