BAX and colorectal carcinoma: As expected, western blot analysis showed that the protein expression of p-Erk and two major cell apoptosis-related molecules Bax and caspase3 was decreased in SW480 cells with DUSP9 knockdown, while overexpression of DUSP9 in LoVo cells had the opposite effect (Figure 7E), confirming the role of DUSP9 in promoting cell apoptosis progression in CRC cells by inhibiting the Erk pathway.