Moreover, the combination treatment significantly enhanced the activation of both Bak and Bax compared with single drugs treatment in HCC cells (Fig 6A and 6B), suggesting that FTS pretreatment potentiated the DHA/ARS-triggered activation of both Bak and Bax, which has nothing to do with the ability of FTS to activate Bak or Bax. This evidence concerns the gene BAX and hepatocellular carcinoma.