The Bcl-2 oncoprotein is a key regulator of apoptosis and the Bag-1 protein interacts with Bcl-2 and cooperates with Bcl-2 to suppress apoptosis. The human Bag-1 cDNA is essentially identical with a previously described cDNA encoding RAP46, which interacts with activated steroid hormone receptors. However, there is considerable confusion over the structure of Bag-1/RAP46 proteins and their relationship to endogenous Bag-1 proteins. Here we have characterized Bag-1 expression in mammalian cells. We demonstrate that, in addition to the previously identified 32 kDa murine and 36 kDa human Bag-1 proteins, cells express a second 50 kDa Bag-1 isoform. In some murine cell lines p50 is expressed at the same level as p32 Bag-1, and p50 and p32 Bag-1 proteins have distinct subcellular localizations, suggesting that they are functionally distinct. The published mouse Bag-1 cDNA is partial, and sequencing of additional murine Bag-1 RNA 5' sequences demonstrated that human and murine Bag-1 cDNAs contain longer open reading frames than originally suspected. We determined which open reading frames gave rise to the Bag-1 isoforms in human cells. Surprisingly, translation of neither protein initiated at the first in-frame methionine, and cells do not express Bag-1/RAP46 proteins with the previously proposed structures; p50 Bag-1 initiates at an upstream CUG codon, whereas p36 Bag-1 initiates at a downstream AUG codon. Therefore, cells express two differently localized Bag-1 isoforms generated by alternative translation initiation, and Bag-1 proteins may play a dual role in regulating apoptosis and steroid hormone-dependent transcription.

Enforced expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Mcl-1 promotes lymphomagenesis in the mouse; however, the functional role of Mcl-1 in human B-cell lymphoma remains unclear. We demonstrate that Mcl-1 is widely expressed in malignant B-cells, and high-level expression of Mcl-1 is required for B-lymphoma cell survival, since transfection of Mcl-1-specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides was sufficient to promote apoptosis in Akata6 lymphoma cells. Mcl-1 was efficiently cleaved by caspases at evolutionarily conserved aspartic acid residues in vitro, and during cisplatin-induced apoptosis in B-lymphoma cell lines and spontaneous apoptosis of primary malignant B-cells. Overexpression of the Mcl-1 cleavage product that accumulated during apoptosis was sufficient to kill cells. Therefore, Mcl-1 is an essential survival molecule for B-lymphoma cells and is cleaved by caspases to a death-promoting molecule during apoptosis. In contrast to Mcl-1, Bcl-2 and Bcl-X L were relatively resistant to caspase cleavage in vitro and in intact cells. Interfering with Mcl-1 function appears to be an effective means of inducing apoptosis in Mcl-1-positive B-cell lymphoma, and the unique sensitivity of Mcl-1 to caspasemediated cleavage suggests an attractive strategy for converting it to a proapoptotic molecule.

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