Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing serves as a typical example to study the impact of alternative splicing in the modulation of cell death. Dysregulation of Bcl-x apoptotic isoforms caused by precarious equilibrium splicing is implicated in genesis and development of multiple human diseases, especially cancers. Exploring the mechanism of Bcl-x splicing and regulation has provided insight into the development of drugs that could contribute to sensitivity of cancer cells to death.
In this review Zhang et al. illustrate the multiple splicing patterns and structural characteristics of Bcl-x and outline the cis-regulatory elements, trans-acting factors as well as epigenetic modifications involved in the splicing regulation of Bcl-x.