PUMA alpha Proteins

Protein Information

PUMA is one of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members including Bax and Noxa, which are also transcriptional targets of p53. The PUMA gene encodes two BH3 domain-containing proteins termed PUMA-a and PUMA-b. PUMA proteins bind Bcl-2, localize to the mitochondria, and induce cytochrome c release and apoptosis in response to p53. PUMA may be a direct mediator of p53-induced apoptosis. Antisense inhibition of PUMA expression reduced the apoptotic response to p53, and PUMA is likely to play a role in mediating p53-induced cell death through the cytochrome c/Apaf-1-dependent pathway.

Synonyms

BBC3; BCL2 binding component 3; bcl-2-binding component 3; Bcl-2-binding component 3, isoforms 1/2; Bcl-2-binding component 3, isoforms 3/4; FLJ42994; JFY1; JFY-1; p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis; PUMA