BCL2 and cancer: Among the putative novel bcl-2-binding proteins, we identified SRA stem–loop interacting RNA-binding protein, SLIRP, a mitochondrial protein with a relevant role in regulating mitochondrial messenger RNA (mRNA) stability.20 After in vitro validation of bcl-2/SLIRP binding in cancer cell lines from different histotypes, we investigated the functional meaning of this novel interaction.