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Bcl-2 Family Proteins

Relative Importance as Determinants of Chemoresistance in Cancer

  • Chapter
Apoptosis and Cancer Chemotherapy

Part of the book series: Cancer Drug Discovery and Development ((CDD&D))

Abstract

Bcl-2 family proteins serve as critical regulators of pathways involved in apoptosis, acting to either inhibit or promote cell death. Because chemotherapeutic drugs typically exert their cytotoxic actions by inducing apoptosis, the ultimate efficacy of most anticancer drugs can be heavily influenced by the relative levels and state of activation of members of the Bcl-2 family. But how important are Bcl-2 family proteins in the overall complex picture of chemoresponses in cancer? Taking into consideration that such knowledge is far from complete, this chapter attempts to critically examine this question. It presents a discussion of some of the experimental and clinical observations that provide insights into the complexities of chemotherapeutic drug mechanisms and the role of Bcl-2 family proteins as modulators of tumor cell susceptibility to apoptosis.

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Authors
  1. John C. Reed MD, PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Campaign, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK

    John A. Hickman  & Caroline Dive  & 

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Reed, J.C. (1999). Bcl-2 Family Proteins. In: Hickman, J.A., Dive, C. (eds) Apoptosis and Cancer Chemotherapy. Cancer Drug Discovery and Development. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-720-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-720-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-165-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-720-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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