p53 Upregulated Modulator Of Apoptosis (PUMA)

The p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis, or PUMA, is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 protein family.Bcl-2 family members can form hetero- or homodimers, and they act as anti- or pro-apoptotic regulators that are involved in a wide variety of cellular activities. The expression of PUMA is regulated by the tumor suppressor p53, and PUMA has been shown to be involved in p53-mediated apoptosis.Genomic sequence analysis revealed that the PUMA transcript is contained within 4 exons, with the presumptive initiation codon in exon 2. The predicted 193-amino acid PUMA protein shares 91% amino acid identity with the murine sequence. PUMA protein is exclusively mitochondrial and binds to BCL2 and BCLXL through a BH3 domain.