Protein kinase C regulates mitochondrial targeting of Nur77 and its family member Nor-1 in thymocytes undergoing apoptosis.

Nur77 orphan steroid receptor and its family member Nor-1 are required for apoptosis of developing T cells. In thymocytes, signals from the TCR complex induce Nur77 and Nor-1 expression followed by translocation from the nucleus to mitochondria. Nur77 and Nor-1 associate with Bcl-2 in the mitochondria, resulting in a conformation change that exposes the Bcl-2 BH3 domain, a presumed pro-apoptotic molecule of Bcl-2.