BCL2L11 Gene

Name	BCL2-like 11 (apoptosis facilitator)
Description	The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the BCL-2 protein family. BCL-2 family members form hetero- or homodimers and act as anti- or pro-apoptotic regulators that are involved in a wide variety of cellular activities. The protein encoded by this gene contains a Bcl-2 homology domain 3 (BH3). It has been shown to interact with other members of the BCL-2 protein family and to act as an apoptotic activator. The expression of this gene can be induced by nerve growth factor (NGF), as well as by the forkhead transcription factor FKHR-L1, which suggests a role of this gene in neuronal and lymphocyte apoptosis. Transgenic studies of the mouse counterpart suggested that this gene functions as an essential initiator of apoptosis in thymocyte-negative selection. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been identified. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2013]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n BCL2L11, which encodes the pro‐apoptotic BH3‐only protein BIM, is a critical mediator that integrates diverse intracellular signals to initiate apoptosis. BIM is activated by various stress stimuli—including endoplasmic reticulum stress, cytokine or growth factor deprivation, and detachment from the extracellular matrix—and functions by neutralizing anti‐apoptotic BCL2 family members, thereby unleashing downstream effectors such as BAX and BAK to permeabilize mitochondria and trigger cell death."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In lymphoid cells, upregulation of BIM by transcription factors like FoxO3a is essential for mediating negative selection of autoreactive thymocytes and for the deletion of superantigen‐stimulated T cells."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "3", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In epithelial contexts, BIM induction following loss of integrin engagement is a key event in anoikis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In cancer cells, suppression of BIM expression or function contributes to apoptosis resistance and tumor progression. For example, microRNA clusters such as miR‐17–92 and miR‐106b–25 downregulate BIM expression, thereby promoting lymphomagenesis and impairing TGFβ‐mediated tumor suppression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, reduced BIM levels—often resulting from oncogenic pathway alterations or impaired de-repression—attenuate the apoptotic efficacy of targeted therapies, as illustrated by the diminished response to BRAF inhibitors in melanoma cells with PTEN loss."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In Myc‐driven B cell malignancies, even heterozygous loss of BIM accelerates tumor development, highlighting its role as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Additionally, modulation of BIM occurs both at the transcriptional level—where factors such as FoxO family proteins are instrumental in its induction during stress"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "—and posttranslationally, as phosphorylation events (for instance, via JNK signaling) enhance its pro-apoptotic function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In B cells, deregulation of microRNA biogenesis (for example, due to Dicer deficiency) leads to enhanced BIM expression, which can be partially counteracted by its ablation, thereby underscoring its pivotal role in B cell development and apoptosis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Collectively, these findings establish BIM as an essential sensor and effector in apoptotic pathways, ensuring proper immune cell homeostasis and acting as a barrier to oncogenic transformation by linking extracellular cues with mitochondrial apoptotic machinery."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "13"}, {"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}, {"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hamsa Puthalakath, Lorraine A O'Reilly, Priscilla Gunn, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ER stress triggers apoptosis by activating BH3-only protein Bim."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cell.2007.04.027"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.04.027"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17604722"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17604722"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Girish V Putcha, Siyuan Le, Stephan Frank, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "JNK-mediated BIM phosphorylation potentiates BAX-dependent apoptosis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Neuron (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/s0896-6273(03)00355-6"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(03"}, {"type": "t", "text": "00355-6) PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12818176"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12818176"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Philippe Bouillet, Jared F Purton, Dale I Godfrey, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BH3-only Bcl-2 family member Bim is required for apoptosis of autoreactive thymocytes."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/415922a"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/415922a"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "11859372"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11859372"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "David A Hildeman, Yanan Zhu, Thomas C Mitchell, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Activated T cell death in vivo mediated by proapoptotic bcl-2 family member bim."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Immunity (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/s1074-7613(02)00322-9"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/s1074-7613(02"}, {"type": "t", "text": "00322-9) PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12121658"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12121658"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Marie Stahl, Pascale F Dijkers, Geert J P L Kops, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The forkhead transcription factor FoxO regulates transcription of p27Kip1 and Bim in response to IL-2."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Immunol (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.4049/jimmunol.168.10.5024"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.168.10.5024"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "11994454"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11994454"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mauricio J Reginato, Kenna R Mills, Jessica K Paulus, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Integrins and EGFR coordinately regulate the pro-apoptotic protein Bim to prevent anoikis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Cell Biol (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ncb1026"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1026"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12844146"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12844146"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Changchun Xiao, Lakshmi Srinivasan, Dinis Pedro Calado, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lymphoproliferative disease and autoimmunity in mice with increased miR-17-92 expression in lymphocytes."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Immunol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ni1575"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1575"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18327259"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18327259"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Fabio Petrocca, Rosa Visone, Mariadele Rapazzotti Onelli, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "E2F1-regulated microRNAs impair TGFbeta-dependent cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in gastric cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Cell (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.ccr.2008.02.013"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2008.02.013"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18328430"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18328430"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kim H T Paraiso, Yun Xiang, Vito W Rebecca, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PTEN loss confers BRAF inhibitor resistance to melanoma cells through the suppression of BIM expression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-2954"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-2954"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21317224"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21317224"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Alexander Egle, Alan W Harris, Philippe Bouillet, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Bim is a suppressor of Myc-induced mouse B cell leukemia."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.0401471101"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0401471101"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15079075"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15079075"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Andrew Sunters, Silvia Fernández de Mattos, Marie Stahl, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "FoxO3a transcriptional regulation of Bim controls apoptosis in paclitaxel-treated breast cancer cell lines."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M309523200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M309523200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14527951"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14527951"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sergei B Koralov, Stefan A Muljo, Gunther R Galler, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dicer ablation affects antibody diversity and cell survival in the B lymphocyte lineage."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cell.2008.02.020"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2008.02.020"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18329371"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18329371"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Victoria Del Gaizo Moore, Jennifer R Brown, Michael Certo, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chronic lymphocytic leukemia requires BCL2 to sequester prodeath BIM, explaining sensitivity to BCL2 antagonist ABT-737."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI28281"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI28281"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17200714"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17200714"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	BIM, BOD
Proteins	B2L11_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	10018
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

BCL2L11 has 12,876 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 134 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for BCL2L11 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

BCL2L11 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by BCL2L11 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of BCL2L11 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with BCL2L11 gene mutations from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with BCL2L11 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with BCL2L11 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BCL2L11 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCL2L11 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCL2L11 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing BCL2L11 protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of BCL2L11 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing BCL2L11 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing BCL2L11 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with BCL2L11 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with BCL2L11 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BCL2L11 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with BCL2L11 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with BCL2L11 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCL2L11 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with BCL2L11 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by BCL2L11 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases associated with BCL2L11 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with BCL2L11 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with BCL2L11 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with BCL2L11 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BCL2L11 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with BCL2L11 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at BCL2L11 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BCL2L11 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BCL2L11 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.