ABSTRACT
The discovery of bcl-2 gene [1, 2] and the demonstration of its role in inhibiting apoptosis [3] has led to the definition of a new category of oncogenes which are involved in the regulation of programmed cell death (apoptosis) [4]. Alterations in these genes promote growth by preventing cell death, whereas the oncogenes previously known promoted cellular growth. Since the discovery of bcl-2, several genes have been described that are involved in apoptosis regulation [5-12]. The other discovery that turned out to be of particular interest was that the anti-oncogene p53 induces apoptosis [13-14] and either its deletion or inactivation are believed to prevent apoptosis from occurring, providing a growth advantage.
