Members in the Bcl-2 family are critical regulators of apoptosis by either inhibiting or promoting cell death. Bim/BOD is a group of three splice variants, BimEL, BimL and BimS, with apparent molecular masses of ~23, 16, and 13 kDa, respectively. Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH₃) domain is a potent death domain. BH₃domain containing pro-apoptotic proteins, including Bad, Bax, Bid, Bik, and Hrk, form a growing subclass of the Bcl-2 family. A novel BH₃domain containing protein was recently identified and designated Bim or BOD in human, mouse, and rat.^1,2Bim/BOD interacts with diverse members in the pro-survival Bcl-2 sub-family including Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Bcl-w. Bim/BOD induces apoptosis. The messenger RNA of Bim is ubiquitously expressed in multiple tissues and cell lines.^1,2

1.O’Connor, L., Strasser, A., O’Reilly, L.A., et al.Bim: A novel member of the Bcl-2 family that promotes apoptosisEMBO Journal17384-395(1998) 2.Hsu, S.Y., Lin, P., and Hsueh, A.J.W.BOD (Bcl-2-related ovarian death gene) is an ovarian BH3 domain-containing proapoptotic Bcl-2 protein capable of dimerization with diverse antiapoptotic Bcl-2 membersMolecular Endocrinology121432-1440(1998)