简介:MembersofBcl-2familyofproteinsareregulatorsofcelldeaththatcanbegroupedintosubfamiliesofprosurvivalandproapoptoticmolecules.Theyarecharacterizedbythepresenceofseveralconservedmotifs,knownastheBcl-2homology(BH)domains,designatedBH1,BH2,BH3andBH4.MutagenesisandstructuralstudiesrevealedthattheBHdomainsareimportantfunctionaldomainsthatarealsorequiredfordimerizationfunction.Recently,asubfamilyofproapoptoticmoleculesonlycontainsBH3motifhasbeenidentifiedsuggestingBH3domainalonemaybesufficientformediatingproapoptoticfunctionamong