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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Examining BCL-2 Family Function with Large Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: October 5, 2012
BCL-2: Long and winding path from discovery to therapeutic target
Robyn L Schenk1, Andreas Strasser1, Grant Dewson1
1Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Abstract:
In 1988, the BCL-2 protein was found to promote cancer by limiting cell death rather than enhancing proliferation. This discovery set the wheels in motion for an almost 30 year journey involving many international research teams that has recently culminated in the approval for a drug, ABT-199/venetoclax/Venclexta that targets this protein in the treatment of cancer. This review will describe the long and winding path from the discovery of this protein and understanding the fundamental process of apoptosis that BCL-2 and its numerous homologues control, through to its exploitation as a drug target that is set to have significant benefit for cancer patients.
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