The antiapoptosis potential of bcl-2 has now been well established. Bu
t the biochemical mechanism of bcl-2 action is still poorly understood
. Using the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (OA) or chemotherapeuti
c agents such as Taxol and 5'-fluorouracil, we found that bcl-2 can be
phosphorylated. Since OA or Taxol treatment leads to apoptosis, it se
ems that phosphorylation of bcl-2 leads to its inactivation. Exposure
of several lymphoid cell lines expressing differential amounts of bcl-
2 protein to OA resulted in apoptosis of the cells and hyperphosphoryl
ation of bcl-2. Interestingly, the lymphoblastoid cell lines that did
not phosphorylate bcl-2 following OA exposure did not undergo apoptosi
s. Moreover, pro-B cells isolated from patients with acute lymphoblast
ic leukemias exhibited endogenous phosphorylated forms of bcl-2 and a
large number of apoptotic cells, even without OA treatment. Treatment
with the phosphatase inhibitor or with chemotherapeutic agents (Taxol,
5'-fluorouracil) led to severe apoptosis of these cells, along with h
yperphosphorylation of bcl-2. Phosphoamino acid analysis reveals that
bcl-2 is phosphorylated at a serine residue. In summary, our investiga
tion indicates that the phosphorylation pathway involving bcl-2 can be
the determinant of cell death in lymphocytes.