Administration of AFSC in ARF rats resulted in improvement of renal function and attenuation of renal damage as reflected by significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine levels, tubular cell apoptosis as assessed by Bax/Bcl2 ratio, and expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins, viz, PUMA, Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9, as compared to the saline-treated group. This evidence concerns the gene CASP9 and acute kidney injury.