Bax (biochemistry)

Bax is a protein of the Bcl-2 gene family. It promotes apoptosis by competing with Bcl-2 proper.

The Bax gene contains a small (39-nt?) promoter element that complements a binding domain on the multi-faceted p53 tumor suppressor. Wild-type p53 has been demonstrated to upregulate the transcription of a chimeric reporter plasmid utilizing the consensus promoter sequence of Bax approx. 50-fold over mutant p53. Mutations in this consensus sequence eliminated transcription of the reporter gene. Thus it is likely that p53 promotes bax's apoptotic faculties in vivo as a primary transcription factor.

## References

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* Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol 4, 1099-1109, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
* Lodish et al., Molecular Cell Biology (5th ed.) W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 2003.
* Toshiyuki Miyashita and John C. Reed (1995). Tumor Suppressor p53 Is a Direct Transcriptional Activator of the Human bax Gene. Cell, 80, 293-299.
* Oltvai, Z., Milliman, C., and Korsmeyer, S. J. (1993). Bcl-2 Heterodimerizes in vivo with a Conserved Homolog, Bax, that Accelerates Programmed Cell Death. Cell, 74, 609-619.

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