Bcl-xl inhibition with ABT263 and other small molecular inhibitors induces platelet apoptosis and results in severe thrombocytopenia, which prevents the use of ABT263 and other Bcl-xl specific inhibitors in the clinic—even for cancer patients—because platelets solely depend on Bcl-xl for survival24–27. The gene discussed is BCL2L1; the disease is Thrombocytopenia.