Antagonists Against Anti-Apoptotic Bcl-2 Family Proteins for Cancer Treatment.

Apoptosis is a programmed cell death process, critical for normal cellular development and tissue homeostasis. B-cell lymphocyte/leukemia 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins are important regulators of apoptosis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that over-expressing anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins is one mechanism for cancer cells to acquire resistance against cancer chemotherapies, suggesting antagonizing these proteins would be a potential approach to overcoming such drug resistance. This review briefly discusses the principle and the recent advances in the development of such antagonists, with some highlights about several promising antagonists.