Rabbit polyclonal antibody to Bcl~w (G154)

Using a PCR~based strategy, an additional protein with life~promoting activity, designated Bcl~w, has been identified. The protein is highly conserved between mouse and human and is encoded by a gene located near the TCRα gene on chromosome 14. Bcl~w is expressed in myeloid cell lines but not in T and B lymphocytes, and can be found in a wide range of tissues. An alternative splicing event in exon 4 results in two transcripts. The first, Bcl~w, encodes a protein of 193 amino acids, and the second, Bcl~w/rox, encodes a protein 333 amino acids in length. The “rox” portion of Bcl~w/rox shows a striking 66% amino acid sequence identity with the Drosophila rox2 protein; however, the Bcl~w/rox transcript may be expressed at very low levels.