BAX and atrial fibrillation: Results showed that when the JNK pathway and the p38 MAPK pathway were respectively inhibited by the inhibitor SP600125 and the inhibitor SB203580, the effects of a high glucose (0.2 M) culture on AF cell apoptosis were partly attenuated, which was indicated by the decreased cell apoptosis ratio (Figure 6A) and caspase-3/9 activity (Figure 6B), down-regulated gene or protein expression pro-apoptosis molecules (Bax, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP) and up-regulated gene expression of anti-apoptosis molecule (Bcl-2, Figure 6C,D).