The role of cardiolipin in promoting the membrane pore-forming activity of BAX oligomers

BCL-2-associated X (BAX) protein acts as a gatekeeper in regulating mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. Under cellular stress, BAX becomes activated and transforms into a lethal oligomer that causes mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP). Previous studies have identified several structural features of the membrane-associated BAX oligomer; they include the formation of the BH3-in-groove dimer, the collapse of the helical hairpin alpha 5-alpha 6, and the membrane insertion of alpha 9 helix. However, it remains unclear as to the role of lipid environment in determining the conformation and the pore-forming activity of the BAX oligomers. Here we study molecular details of the membrane-associated BAX in various lipid environments using fluorescence and ESR techniques. We identify the inactive versus active forms of membrane-associated BAX, only the latter of which can induce stable and large membrane pores that are sufficient in size to pass apoptogenic factors. We reveal that the presence of CL is crucial to promoting the association between BAX dimers, hence the active oligomers. Without the presence of CL, BAX dimers assemble into an inactive oligomer that lacks the ability to form stable pores in the membrane. This study suggests an important role of CL in determining the formation of active BAX oligomers.