Bcl2 at the endoplasmic reticulum protects against a Bax/Bak-independent paraptosis-like cell death pathway initiated via p20Bap31

► Ectopic expression of p20 leads to paraptosis-like cell death in E1A/DNp53 BMK cells. ► This p20-induced pathway is characterized by a rise in ER Ca2+ and ER vacuolization. ► Cell death and ER vacuolization can be delayed by Bcl2b5 in the absence of Bax/Bak. ► ER localized Bcl2 can exert a pro-survival effect in the absence of Bax/Bak.