The apoptosis‐associated protein BNIPL interacts with two cell proliferation‐related proteins, MIF and GFER

Abstract
Bcl‐2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 2‐like, BNIP‐2‐like (BNIPL) is a recently cloned and characterized apoptosis‐associated protein that shares 72% homology with BNIP‐2. It is highly expressed in human placenta and lung. A yeast two‐hybrid system was used to obtain two BNIPL‐interacting proteins, MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) and GFER (growth factor erv1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)‐like). The interactions were confirmed by glutathione S‐transferase pull‐down assay in vitro and co‐immunoprecipitation assay in vivo. Colony formation assay and cell proliferation test suggest that overexpression of BNIPL could inhibit the growth of BEL‐7402 cells. These findings suggest that BNIPL may physically bind to cell proliferation‐related proteins, MIF and GFER.