CASP9 and non-small cell lung carcinoma: Our results showed that TFAM stable knockdown in NSCLC A549 and H460 cells led to increased expression of p53, p-p53 (ser15), p21, p-JNK, p-p38 and pro-apoptotic Bax, as well as the cleavage of PARP, caspase 3 and caspase 9; the expression of Bcl-2, which inhibits apoptosis, remained unchanged (Figure 2A).