The role of BOK in apoptosis and development

Abstract

The intrinsic (also known as the mitochondrial or BCL-2 regulated) pathway of apoptosis is regulated by members of the BCL-2 family, which can be divided into two main groups depending on whether they posses a prosurvival or pro-death function. BAX and BAK are two key players that are directly involved in the execution of apoptosis by mediating mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilisation (MOMP), which unleashes the cascade of caspases that lead to cellular demolition. The essential overlapping roles of BAX and BAK in the intrinsic apoptotic pathway is demonstrated by the fact that many cell types deficient for both proteins are highly resistant to a broad range of cytotoxic stimuli. In add..