Apoptosis regulator, Bcl-2 protein, BAG <p>Apoptosis, or programmed cell death (PCD), is a common and evolutionarily conserved property of all metazoans [<cite idref="PUB00017281"/>]. In many biological processes, apoptosis is required to eliminate supernumerary or dangerous (such as pre-cancerous) cells and to promote normal development. Dysregulation of apoptosis can, therefore, contribute to the development of many major diseases including cancer, autoimmunity and neurodegenerative disorders. In most cases, proteins of the caspase family execute the genetic programme that leads to cell death.</p><p>Bcl-2 proteins are central regulators of caspase activation, and play a key role in cell death by regulating the integrity of the mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes [<cite idref="PUB00017301"/>]. At least 20 Bcl-2 proteins have been reported in mammals, and several others have been identified in viruses. Bcl-2 family proteins fall roughly into three subtypes, which either promote cell survival (anti-apoptotic) or trigger cell death (pro-apoptotic). All members contain at least one of four conserved motifs, termed Bcl-2 Homology (BH) domains. Bcl-2 subfamily proteins, which contain at least BH1 and BH2, promote cell survival by inhibiting the adapters needed for the activation of caspases.</p><p>Pro-apoptotic members potentially exert their effects by displacing the adapters from the pro-survival proteins; these proteins belong either to the Bax subfamily, which contain BH1-BH3, or to the BH3 subfamily, which mostly only feature BH3 [<cite idref="PUB00017291"/>]. Thus, the balance between antagonistic family members is believed to play a role in determining cell fate. Members of the wider Bcl-2 family, which also includes Bcl-x, Bcl-w and Mcl-1, are described by their similarity to Bcl-2 protein, a member of the pro-survival Bcl-2 subfamily [<cite idref="PUB00017291"/>]. Full-length Bcl-2 proteins feature all four BH domains, seven alpha-helices, and a C-terminal hydrophobic motif that targets the protein to the outer mitochondrial membrane, ER and nuclear envelope. </p><p>BAG domains are present in Bcl-2-associated athanogene 1 and silencer of death domains. The BAG proteins are modulators of chaperone activity, they bind to HSP70/HSC70 proteins and promote substrate release. The proteins have anti-apoptotic activity and increase the anti-cell death function of BCL-2 induced by various stimuli. BAG-1 binds to the serine/threonine kinase Raf-1 or Hsc70/Hsp70 in a mutually exclusive interaction. BAG-1 promotes cell growth by binding to and stimulating Raf-1 activity. The binding of Hsp70 to BAG-1 diminishes Raf-1 signalling and inhibits subsequent events, such as DNA synthesis, as well as arrests the cell cycle. BAG-1 has been suggested to function as a molecular switch that encourages cells to proliferate in normal conditions but become quiescent under a stressful environment [<cite idref="PUB00009773"/>]. </p><p>BAG-family proteins contain a single BAG domain, except for human BAG-5 which has four BAG repeats. The BAG domain is a conserved region located at the C terminus of the BAG-family proteins that binds the ATPase domain of Hsc70/Hsp70. The BAG domain is evolutionarily conserved, and BAG domain containing proteins have been described and/or proven in a variety of organisms including <taxon tax_id="10090">Mus musculus</taxon> (Mouse), Xenopus spp., Drosophila spp., <taxon tax_id="7091">Bombyx mori</taxon> (Silk moth), <taxon tax_id="6239">Caenorhabditis elegans</taxon>, <taxon tax_id="4932">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</taxon> (Baker's yeast), <taxon tax_id="4896">Schizosaccharomyces pombe</taxon> (Fission yeast), and <taxon tax_id="3702">Arabidopsis thaliana</taxon> (Mouse-ear cress).</p><p> The BAG domain has 110-124 amino acids and is comprised of three anti-parallel alpha-helices, each approximately 30-40 amino acids in length. The first and second helices interact with the serine/threonine kinase Raf-1 and the second and third helices are the sites of the BAG domain interaction with the ATPase domain of Hsc70/Hsp70. Binding of the BAG domain to the ATPase domain is mediated by both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions in BAG-1 and is energy requiring.</p>