BAX and colitis: Levels of Caspase-3 and Bax protein in the colon were significantly increased in the DSS-induced group compared with the healthy control group, and Bcl-2 protein was expressed at significantly lower levels in DSS-induced mice than in healthy control mice (Fig. 5a and b), indicating that the rate of colonic apoptosis in mice with DSS-induced colitis was increased compared with healthy control mice.