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GeneE
50 sources retrieved Β· Most recent: April 2026 Β· Index updated 14 days ago
β“˜GeneE is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
BCL2L1
BCL2 like 1
Chromosome 20 Β· 20q11.21
NCBI Gene: 598Ensembl: ENSG00000171552.15HGNC: HGNC:992UniProt: A0A0S2Z3C5
780PubMed Papers
20Diseases
3Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Highly ConstrainedHub Gene
RESEARCH IMPACT
Highly Studied
CLINICAL
FDA Approved Target
DATA QUALITY
βœ“ Experimental GO Evidenceβœ“ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
response to cytokinenegative regulation of apoptotic processnegative regulation of extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway via death domain receptorsprotein bindingneurodegenerative diseasesevere acute respiratory syndromeneoplasmprimary myelofibrosis
✦AI Summary

BCL2L1 (BCL2 like 1) encodes an anti-apoptotic member of the BCL-2 family protein complex that primarily functions to inhibit programmed cell death. The protein localizes to mitochondrial membranes and regulates the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by preventing mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and cytochrome c release 1. BCL2L1 expression is dynamically regulated in response to cellular stress, including DNA damage and therapeutic drug treatment 2, 3. The protein's anti-apoptotic function is mediated through BH3 domain interactions with pro-apoptotic family members 4. In cancer biology, BCL2L1 upregulation represents a critical resistance mechanism in EGFR-mutated lung cancer following tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment, with genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of BCL2L1/BCL-XL overcoming acquired drug resistance 1. BCL2L1 inhibition enhances apoptosis induction by multiple therapeutic agents, including daunorubicin in acute myeloid leukemia and pyrimidine synthesis inhibitors in pancreatic cancer 3, 5. Selective BCL2L1 inhibitors show senolytic activity, selectively promoting apoptosis in senescent cells with potentially reduced hematological toxicity compared to pan-BCL-2 family inhibitors 6. These findings establish BCL2L1 as a high-priority therapeutic target for combination strategies across multiple malignancies.

Sources cited
1
BCL2L1 upregulation in EGFR-mutated lung cancer promotes tumor cell survival and drives resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors; genetic ablation and pharmacological inhibition overcome this resistance
PMID: 39122703
2
BCL2L1 downregulation is required for amsacrine-induced apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia cells; BCL2L1 overexpression inhibits apoptosis
PMID: 37451322
3
NOXA-mediated degradation of BCL2L1 causes apoptosis of daunorubicin-treated acute myeloid leukemia cells; restoration of BCL2L1 expression alleviates cell death
PMID: 33982799
4
BCL2L1 inhibition synergizes with DHODH inhibition to induce apoptosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells and patient-derived organoids
PMID: 40738904
5
Selective BCL2L1 inhibitors function as senolytics, selectively promoting apoptosis of senescent cells with potentially lower hematological toxicity than non-selective inhibitors
PMID: 28273655
6
BCL2L1 inhibitor WEHI-539 combined with BCL2 inhibitor ABT-199 shows synergistic cytotoxicity through NOXA-mediated MCL1 degradation in leukemia cells
PMID: 35561756
Disease Associationsβ“˜20
neurodegenerative diseaseOpen Targets
0.53Moderate
severe acute respiratory syndromeOpen Targets
0.46Moderate
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.43Moderate
primary myelofibrosisOpen Targets
0.33Weak
small cell lung carcinomaOpen Targets
0.30Weak
myelofibrosisOpen Targets
0.28Weak
chronic lymphocytic leukemiaOpen Targets
0.13Weak
acute myeloid leukemiaOpen Targets
0.13Weak
Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromeOpen Targets
0.12Weak
hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndromeOpen Targets
0.12Weak
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.11Weak
glioblastoma multiformeOpen Targets
0.11Weak
melanomaOpen Targets
0.11Weak
triple-negative breast cancerOpen Targets
0.11Weak
lung cancerOpen Targets
0.11Weak
acute lymphoblastic leukemiaOpen Targets
0.10Weak
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.10Weak
colorectal cancerOpen Targets
0.10Weak
malignant pleural mesotheliomaOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
gastric cancerOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar β†—
Drug Targets3
NAVITOCLAXApproved
Apoptosis regulator Bcl-W inhibitor
neoplasm
OBATOCLAXPhase II
Apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 inhibitor
OBATOCLAX MESYLATEPhase III
Apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 inhibitor
small cell lung carcinoma
Related Genes
BIKProtein interaction100%CASP2Protein interaction100%CTSOProtein interaction100%TP53BP2Protein interaction100%TNFRSF10BProtein interaction100%BCL2L14Protein interaction100%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Lung
100%
Brain
82%
Liver
68%
Bone Marrow
66%
Heart
51%
Ovary
18%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
BCL2L1BIKCASP2CTSOTP53BP2TNFRSF10BBCL2L14
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB7JGW Β· 1.30 Γ… Β· X-ray
View on RCSB β†—
Constraintβ“˜
LOEUFβ“˜
0.26Highly Constrained
pLIβ“˜
1.00Intolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.06 [0.02–0.26]
RankingsWhere BCL2L1 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #255of 20,598
    Most Researched780 Β· top 5%
  • #723of 1,025
    FDA-Approved Drug Targets1
  • #843of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.26 Β· top 5%
Genes detectedBCL2L1
Sources retrieved50 papers
Response timeβ€”
πŸ“„ Sources
50β–Ό
1
New agents that target senescent cells: the flavone, fisetin, and the BCL-X
PMID: 28273655
Aging (Albany NY) Β· 2017
1.00
2
Integrative single-cell RNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics analyses reveal diverse apoptosis-related gene expression profiles in EGFR-mutated lung cancer.
PMID: 39122703
Cell Death Dis Β· 2024
0.90
3
Sex Differences in Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis: A Comprehensive Study Based on Bioinformatics.
PMID: 32255771
Med Sci Monit Β· 2020
0.86
4
Dual inhibition of KIF11 and BCL2L1 induces apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma cells.
PMID: 37619315
Biochem Biophys Res Commun Β· 2023
0.82
5
Amsacrine downregulates BCL2L1 expression and triggers apoptosis in human chronic myeloid leukemia cells through the SIDT2/NOX4/ERK/HuR pathway.
PMID: 37451322
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol Β· 2023
0.80