BCL-2 INHIBITS P53 NUCLEAR IMPORT FOLLOWING DNA-DAMAGE

Bcl-2 is an integral membrane oncoprotein that localizes to membranes of the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear envelope, Bcl- 2 is a member of a family of cell death regulators and functions to in hibit apoptosis, Using confocal microscopy and immunoblotting we show that the ability of bcl-2 to suppress cell death following genotoxic d amage can be a consequence of inhibiting nuclear import of induced wil d-type p53 protein, Our data suggests that the ability of bcl-2 to mod ulate trafficking events is not cell type specific, These data support a 'gatekeeper' mechanism for cell death suppression by bcl-2.