Members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins interact to regulate programmed cell death (apoptosis) under a broad range of physiological conditions. Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and several related proteins inhibit apoptosis, whereas other members of the Bcl-2 family, such as Bax and Bak, enhance cell death. NOXA, a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, contains the Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH3) region, but does not contain other BH domains. Murine cells constitutively express NOXA mRNA in small amounts in various organs; X-ray irradiation increases NOXA mRNA and protein expression levels. In human cells, NOXA, alternatively designated PMA-induced protein 1 or APR, displays high expression in the adult T cell leukemia cell line IKD, where it may function as an immediate-early-response gene. The NOXA protein selectively localizes to mitochondria.
