Polyclonal antibody to Bcl-2

This antibody recognizes both Bcl-2 alpha and beta isoforms. Human Bcl-2 alpha is a 239 amino acid (aa) protein and human Bcl-2 beta is a 205 aa protein. The Bcl-2 family of apoptosis-related genes plays central roles in regulating apoptotic pathways. Regulation of cell death through apoptosis is critical for the maintenance of homeostasis, defense against infectious agents, and normal development. Bcl-2 family proteins regulate apoptosis primarily through the regulation of mitochondrial outer membrane permeability. In mammals, Bcl-2 family proteins can be divided into 3 main subfamilies on the basis of their function and the content of their Bcl-2 homology (BH) domains, for example: 1) Prosurvival: Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Bcl-W, A1, and Mcl-1 2) Proapoptotic (multidomain) : Bax, Bak, and Bok. 3) BH3-only (proapoptotic) : Bad, Bcl-XS, Bid, Bik, Bim, Blk, Bmf, Bnip, Noxa, and Puma. Many Bcl-2 family proteins are differentially expressed in various malignancies and some are useful prognostic biomarkers. Prosurvival proteins are often elevated in diverse cancers and have the potential to confer resistance to both endogenous cell death stimuli and cancer treatments. Alterations in the ratio or levels of Bcl-2 family proteins have been also associated with nonmalignant diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, AIDs, Down syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, glomerulonephritis, and muscular dystrophy.