APAF1 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Furthermore, mitochondrial pathway-related protein levels (cytochrome c, Apaf-1, Bax, Bad, and cleavage-caspase-9) were increased, but the levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl were decreased in SLE and diosgenin-treated WEHI-3 cells (Figure 6(c)).