Phosphorylation of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins during hypoxia in newborn piglets

Studies indicate that phosphorylated Bcl-2 cannot form a heterodimer with Bax and thus may lose its antiapoptotic potential. The present study tests the hypothesis that graded hypoxia in cerebral tissue induces the phosphorylation of Bcl-2, thus altering the heterodimerization of Bcl-2 with Bax and subsequently leading to apoptosis. Anesthetized, ventilated newborn piglets were assigned to a normoxic and a graded hypoxic group. Cerebral cortical neuronal nuclei were isolated and immunoprecipitated; immune complexes were separated and reacted with Bcl-2 and Bax specific antibodies. The results show an increased level of serine/tyrosine phosphorylated Bcl-2 in nuclear membranes of hypoxic animals. The level of phosphorylated Bcl-2 protein increased linearly with decrease in tissue PCr. The level of phosphorylated Bax in the neuronal nuclear membranes was independent of cerebral tissue PCr. The data shows that during hypoxia, there is increased phosphorylation of Bcl-2, which may prevent its heterodimerization with Bax and lead to increased proapoptotic activity due to excess Bax in the hypoxic brain. Further increased phosphorylation of Bcl-2 may alter the Bcl-2/Bax-dependent antioxidant, lipid peroxidation and pore forming activity, as well as the regulation of intranuclear Ca2+ and caspase activation pathways. We speculate that increased phosphorylation of Bcl-2 in neuronal nuclear membranes is a potential mechanism of programmed cell death activation in the hypoxic brain.