Claim: BNIP3 can induce classical apoptosis through cytochrome c and caspase activation in some cells and has been shown to induce cell death if expression is increased.
Evidence: BNIP3 can induce classical apoptosis through cytochrome c and caspase activation in some cells, while in others, cells have undergone autophagic cell death, occurring in the absence of apaf-1, caspase-1 or caspase 3, and without cytochrome c release. Increased expression of BNIP3 has been shown to induce cell death in different ways in multiple cell lines.