Anti-BAK

0.5mg/ml if reconstituted with 0.2ml sterile DI water. BAK, officially called Bcl2 antagonist killer, is a protein that in humans, encoded by the BAK gene. The BAK protein is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 gene family which is involved in initiating apoptosis. BAK gene spans 7.6 kb and contains 6 exons. By Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA from human/rodent somatic cell hybrids, BAK gene is localized to chromosome 6. This protein localizes to mitochondria, and functions to induce apoptosis. It interacts with and accelerates the opening of the mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel, which leads to a loss in membrane potential and the release of cytochrome. This protein also interacts with the tumor suppressor P53 after exposure to cell stress. Protein function: In the presence of an appropriate stimulus, accelerates programmed cell death by binding to, and antagonizing the anti- apoptotic action of BCL2 or its adenovirus homolog E1B 19k protein. Low micromolar levels of zinc ions inhibit the promotion of apoptosis. [The UniProt Consortium]