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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

In Vitro Differentiation Model of Human Normal Memory B Cells to Long-lived Plasma Cells
Published on: January 20, 2019
Bcl-2 overexpression disrupts the morphology of PC12 cells through reduced ERK activation
Zhiping Mi1, Zeljka Korade Mirnics, Nina Felice Schor
1Pediatric Center for Neuroscience, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Abstract:
Bcl-2 has been hypothesized to regulate many cellular functions in addition to its well-characterized role in the prevention of programmed cell death. To understand the role of Bcl-2 in regulating cell morphology and to explore the mechanism of this effect, we examined the effects of Bcl-2 overexpression on the morphology of PC12 cells in culture. We demonstrate that the overexpression of Bcl-2 in PC12 cells results in altered cell morphology and reduced actin expression. Analysis of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 phosphorylation reveals that the morphological changes seen after bcl-2 transfection are associated with reduced ERK activation. Treatment of control (mock-transfected) PC12 cells with the mitogen-activated ERK-activating kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059 converts their flat, process-bearing morphology into the rounded, process-free morphology of bcl-2-transfected cells, further confirming the association of ERK activation with altered cell shape. In conclusion, the present study describes a novel function of Bcl-2 in regulating cell shape through reduced ERK activation.
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