Apoptosis is an important biological process that plays a key role in the regulation of cell fate and homeostasis. The B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family proteins are important regulators of the apoptotic pathway, and their dysfunction is associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. In the past decade, a large number of research work on the physiological functions and atomic structures of Bcl-2 family proteins have been reported, which has deepened our understanding of the molecular mechanism and pathological significance of Bcl-2 family proteins. Recently, new drugs targeting different Bcl-2 proteins have been developed and used in clinics or tested in clinical trials. However, the complexity and diversity in functions and structures of Bcl-2 family have left many unsolved problems. This article summarizes current knowledge of the structure and function of Bcl-2 family proteins and discusses the pharmacological significance of Bcl-2 proteins as effective therapeutic targets.
细胞凋亡是一个重要的生物学过程, 对细胞命运及稳态的调控起着关键作用。B细胞 淋巴瘤−2(Bcl-2)家族蛋白是凋亡途径的重要组分, 其功能异常与多种疾病相关, 包括癌症、神经退行性疾病和自身免疫疾病等。近十年涌现了大量关于Bcl-2家族蛋白生理功能及结构的报道, 加深 了我们对Bcl-2家族蛋白的作用机制及其病理意义的认识, 且在过去几年中, 许多针对不同Bcl-2成员的药物已经被开发并进入临床阶段。但Bcl-2家族蛋白功能和结构的复杂性及多样性导致该研 究领域仍有大量问题尚待解决。该文总结了目前关于Bcl-2蛋白家族结构和功能的知识, 还讨论了 Bcl-2蛋白作为有效分子治疗靶点的药理学意义
Keywords: Bcl-2; anti-apoptotic protein; pro-apoptotic protein.