Regulation of Bcl-xl channel activity by calcium.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the anti-apoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl, with the carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic domain removed, form cation-selective channels in the lipid bilayer reconstitution system. However, the regulatory properties of these channels are unknown. In this study, we investigated the ion-conducting properties of full-length Bcl-xl in the lipid bilayer reconstitution system. Our findings indicate that Bcl-xl forms a cation-selective channel that conducts sodium but not calcium and that Bcl-xl channel activity is reversibly inhibited by luminal calcium with a half-dissociation constant of approximately 60 microM. This calcium-dependent regulation of the Bcl-xl channel provides new insights into the roles of calcium and Bcl-2-related proteins in the programmed cell death pathway.