Role of BAX in the apoptotic response to anticancer agents

To assess the role of BAX in drug-induced apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells, we generated cells that Lack functional BAX genes. Such cells were partially resistant to the apoptotic effects of the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil, but apoptosis was not abolished. In contrast, the absence of BAX completely abolished the apoptotic response to the chemopreventive agent sulindac and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs inhibited the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-X-L, resulting in an altered ratio of BAX to BcL-X-L and subsequent mitochondria-mediated cell death. These results establish an unambiguous role for BAX in apoptotic processes in human epithelial cancers and may have implications for cancer chemoprevention strategies.