Recombinant Human BID Protein

BH3-Interacting Domain Death Agonist (BID) is a member of the Bcl-2 protein family which regulates outer mitochondrial membrane permeability. BID is a pro-apoptotic member that causes cytochrome c to be released from the mitochondria intermembrane space into the cytosol. BID contains only the BH3 domain; which is required for its interaction with the Bcl-2 family proteins and for its pro-death activity. BID is susceptible to proteolytic cleavage by caspases; calpains; Granzyme B and cathepsins. It is an integrating key regulator of the intrinsic death pathway that amplifies caspase-dependent and caspase-independent execution of neuronal apoptosis. Therefore pharmacological inhibition of BID provides a promising therapeutic strategy in neurological diseases where programmed cell death is prominent; and also offer a new strategy for the treatment of acute renal failure associated with ischemia-reperfusion. BID receives direct inputs from a key regulator of the cell cycle arrest/DNA repair machinery (ATM); and therefore is an excellent candidate to coordinate genotoxic stress responses and apoptotic cell death. BID is a novel pro-apoptosis Bcl-2 family protein that is activated by caspase 8 in response to Fas/TNF-R1 death receptor signals. Deletion of BID inhibits carcinogenesis in the liver; although this genetic alteration promotes tumorigenesis in the myeloid cells. This is likely related to the function of BID to promote cell cycle progression into S phase. BID could be also involved in the maintenance of genomic stability by engaging at mitosis checkpoint.