Regulation of Bax translocation through phosphorylation at Ser-70 of Bcl-2 by MAP kinase in NO-induced neuronal apoptosis

The molecular mechanism of Bcl-2 phosphorylation and its relationship to Bax is largely unknown. Here we show that the phosphorylation of Bcl-2 is involved in the intracellular translocation of Bax from cytosol to mitochondria in NO-induced neuronal apoptosis. We examined how the phosphorylation of Bcl-2 is regulated during the apoptosis and found it to be mediated by the activation of p38 and ERK, members of the MAPK superfamily. Furthermore, we investigated whether Bcl-2 phosphorylation affected Bax translocation, using mutant Bcl-2 expression vectors. Cortical neuronal cells overexpressing the Bcl-2 mutant S70A (which cannot be phosphorylated) prevented the translocation of Bax. In contrast, transfection with Bcl-2 (S70D), a constitutively active Bcl-2 mutant, enhanced the translocation. Our results suggested that Bcl-2 phosphorylated at Ser-70 plays a critial role in the translocation of Bax from the cytosol to the mitochondria, and this may regulate NO-induced neuronal apoptosis. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.