Constitutive association of the proapoptotic protein Bim with Bcl-2-related proteins on mitochondria in T cells

Apoptosis in activated T cells in vivo requires the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bim. We show here that, despite its ability to bind LC8, a component of the microtubule dynein motor complex, most of the Bim in both healthy and apoptotic T cells is associated with mitochondria, not microtubules. In healthy resting T cells Bim is bound to the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-x_L. In activated T cells, levels of Bcl-2 fall, and Bim is associated more with Bcl-x_L and less with Bcl-2. Our results indicate that, in T cells, Bim function is regulated by interaction with Bcl-2 family members on mitochondria rather than by sequestration to the microtubules.