Bcl-2 blocks glucocorticoid- but not Fas- or activation-induced apoptosis in a T cell hybridoma

Overexpression of Bcl-2 can prevent or markedly delay cell death induced by a variety of apoptotic stimuli. Although Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) interactions play a major role in the elimination of self-reactive T cells in the periphery, inhibition of Fas-mediated killing by Bcl-2 has not been consistently observed. The mouse T hybridoma 2B4.11 (2B4) has been a useful model to study glucocorticoid- and activation-induced apoptosis, which is mediated through Fas and FasL. Using both stable transfectants and transient transfections, overexpression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL readily blocked glucocorticoid-induced but not activation-induced apoptosis of 2B4 cells. Bcl-2 expression did not inhibit Fas-mediated cytotoxicity triggered by cells expressing FasL or by the transient transfection of human Fas. Similarly, overexpression of Bcl-2 in the mouse T hybridoma A1.1 did not block activation-induced/Fas-mediated apoptosis. In Jurkat cells, however, expression of Bcl-2 partially inhibited anti-Fas-induced cell death. A Bcl-2-related protein that can interfere with anti-Fas killing, the adenoviral E1B 19K, also did not block activation-induced/Fas-mediated apoptosis in 2B4 cells. In contrast, expression of CrmA, a cowpox virus protein that inhibits ICE-like protease activity, blocked activation-induced apoptosis in 2B4 cells but had little effect on Dex-mediated cytotoxicity. These results show that: 1) Bcl-2 can have strikingly different anti-cell death activity in the same cell depending upon the apoptotic stimulus, 2) distinct apoptosis signaling pathways may exist with differential sensitivity to Bcl-2 and ICE-like protease inhibitors.