Apoptosis: embedded in membranes.

Many different signals for cell death converge on outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, a process controlled by the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Recent structural and biochemical analyses emphasize that key regulatory interactions between different classes of Bcl-2 family members occur at and in intracellular membranes, and insertion into membranes causes functionally important conformational changes in the proteins.