BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 1 (BAG1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BAG1 gene. Human BAG1 is mapped to chromosome 9p12, a region associated with hereditary disorders that may involve developmental dysregulation of programmed cell death. The Bag1 protein is rich in glutamic acid residues. Its deduced 274-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 31 KD. Being the BCL-2-associated athanogene, Bag1 enhances the anti-apoptotic effects of BCL2 and represents a link between growth factor receptors and anti-apoptotic mechanisms.