Biological Activity
Baculoviral IAP repe at containing 2 (BIRC2) is responsible for regulating NF-KB signaling, as well as apoptosis. It normally exists as a monomer, but is induced by proapoptotic signals to dimerize and undergo proteasomal degradation. It acts as an inhibitor of caspase, as well as a co-factor in tumor necrosis factor signaling. Studies suggest that, BIRC2 might regulate cell cycle, as it is accumulated in the midbody of cells in telophase stage. BIRC2 has also been proposed as an oncogene, as it degrades Mad-1, which is an antagonist of Myc. Degradation of Mad-1 leads to increased levels of Myc, which in turn promotes cell proliferation. It also regulates E2F1 transcription factor, and prevents its binding to DNA and E2F1-mediated transcriptional activation. BIRC2 is overexpressed in uterine cervix carcinoma of squamous cell type.
