Bcl-2-like protein 13

BCL2L13 (Bcl-2-like protein 13) is a 485-amino-acid protein that may promote activation of caspase-3 and apoptosis (UniProt: Q9BXK5). It belongs to the Bcl-2 family of regulators involved in programmed cell death pathways.

BCL2L13 shows tissue expression consistent with a pro-apoptotic role, though no specific disease associations are documented in the UniProt record. The protein localizes to multiple cellular compartments and functions within conserved apoptotic signaling networks.

In Alzheimer's Disease, BCL2L13 is upregulated in post-mortem AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls (mean log2 fold-change: 0.69; Chaparral AD proteomics). This elevation was detected across subcellular fractions (P2, P3, S2, S3) in TMT-labeled human brain proteomics analysis, suggesting increased pro-apoptotic signaling may contribute to neurodegeneration in AD pathology.