BCL-2 AND BCL-X - REGULATORY SWITCHES FOR LYMPHOID DEATH AND SURVIVAL

The survival and death of lymphoid cells is under the control of a gen etic program. Cell death is activated at different stages of developme nt and serves to remove unnecessary and autoreactive lymphocytes, as w ell as to limit the immune response. The survival of cells is regulate d by a set of genes chat net as repressors of the cell death mechanism . Of these, bcl-2 and bcl-x exhibit a striking pattern of regulation d uring lymphoid maturation and can inhibit several forms of apoptotic c ell death. Here, Gabriel Nunez and colleagues review recent developmen ts bl the field, particularly focusing on the role of the Bcl-2 and Bc l-x proteins in regulating lymphoid death and survival.