As such, the balance between these two antagonistic isoforms is tightly regulated and overexpression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL isoform has been linked to resistance to chemotherapy in several cancers (12,13), whereas overexpression of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-xS isoform is associated to some forms of diabetes and cardiac disorders (14,15). This evidence concerns the gene BCL2L1 and diabetes mellitus.