Paradoxical implication of BAX/BAK in the persistence of tetraploid cells

Pro-apoptotic multi-domain proteins of the BCL2 family such as BAX and BAK are well known for their important role in the induction of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), which is the rate-limiting step of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Human or mouse cells lacking both BAX and BAK (due to a double knockout, DKO) are notoriously resistant to MOMP and cell death induction. Here we report the surprising finding that BAX/BAK...