Anti-Human Bcl-2 Antibody

Description

Bcl-2 is a human proto-oncogene located chromosome 18. Its product is an integral membrane protein also called Bcl-2 located in the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum ER , nuclear envelope, and in the outer membranes of the mitochondria. The gene was discovered as the translocated locus in a B-cell leukemia hence the name . This translocation is also found in some B-cell lymphomas. In the cancerous B cells, the portion of chromosome 18 containing the BCL-2 locus has undergone a reciprocal translocation with the portion of chromosome 14 containing the antibody heavy chain locus. This t 14;18 translocation places the BCL-2 gene close to the heavy chain gene enhancer. This enhancer is very active in B cells and therefore results in high levels of Bcl-2 expression in these cells. High levels of the Bcl-2 protein protect the cells from early death by apoptosis. The Bcl-2 protein suppresses apoptosis by preventing the activation of the caspases that carry out the process. It is conceived that introduction of the Bcl-2 gene into the cells of injured tissue will reduce cell death and improve the clinical outcome of the injury