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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Examining BCL-2 Family Function with Large Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: October 5, 2012
Bcl-2-regulated calcium signals as common mediators of both apoptosis and autophagy
Sarah Swerdlow1, Clark W Distelhorst
1Department of Medicine, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Abstract:
The calcium ion, a major intracellular second messenger, is a known mediator of apoptosis and is regulated by the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. A paper by Høyer-Hasen et al. (2007) in the current issue of Molecular Cell indicates that calcium also mediates the induction of macroautophagy in a Bcl-2 regulated fashion and identifies a signaling pathway through which calcium exerts its action. These intriguing findings provoke speculation as to how a cell decides to undergo either apoptosis or macroautophagy in response to calcium signals.
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