ATF3 and colorectal cancer: Moreover, ATF3 expression plays an important role in apoptosis induced by a variety of anti-cancer compounds such as berberine[46], conjugated linoleic acid[47], curcumin[48] and 3,3′-diindolylmethane[49] in human colorectal cancer cells, which indicates that ATF3 could function as a pro-apoptotic mediator.