Solution structure of BID, an intracellular amplifier of apoptotic signaling.
Chou, J.J., Li, H., Salvesen, G.S., Yuan, J., Wagner, G.(1999) Cell 96: 615-624
- PubMed: 10089877 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80572-3
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
2BID - PubMed Abstract: 
We report the solution structure of BID, an intracellular cross-talk agent that can amplify FAS/TNF apoptotic signal through the mitochondria death pathway after Caspase 8 cleavage. BID contains eight alpha helices where two central hydrophobic helices are surrounded by six amphipathic ones. The fold resembles poreforming bacterial toxins and shows similarity to BCL-XL although sequence homology to BCL-XL is limited to the 16-residue BH3 domain. Furthermore, we modeled a complex of BCL-XL and BID by aligning the BID and BAK BH3 motifs in the known BCL-XL-BAK BH3 complex. Additionally, we show that the overall structure of BID is preserved after cleavage by Caspase 8. We propose that BID has both BH3 domain-dependent and -independent modes of action in inducing mitochondrial damage.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Committee on Higher Degrees in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.