Bcl-xL Blocking Peptide

Apoptosis plays a major role in normal organism development, tissue homeostasis, and removal of damaged cells. Disruption of this process has been implicated in a variety of diseases such as cancer.1 Bcl-xL is a member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins that are critical regulators of apoptosis.2,3 These can be divided into two classes: those that inhibit apoptosis and those that promote cell death. Bcl-xL is an anti-apoptotic mitochondrial protein related to Bcl-w and the major transcript of the bcl-x gene.4 Its high expression in tumors is correlated with advanced disease and poor prognosis.5 Bcl-xL expression level increases in response to several stimuli such as ionizing radiation and treatment with chemotherapeutic agents.6,7