Although shHD did not show any statistically significant different expression of apoptosis related gene at NPC stage compared to WT, shHD astrocytes showed significantly higher expression of HSPD1 (P ≤ 0.05) and significantly lower expression of CASP9 (P < 0.0001) (Fig 4F). This evidence concerns the gene HSPD1 and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.