HMOX1 and tongue cancer: Additional validation revealed that DSK-induced upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/HO-1 and downregulation of cIAP-1 and XIAP were consistently noted in HSC-3 and SCC-9 cells (Figure 4B), suggesting that DSK treatment renders a specific profile of apoptotic proteome in tongue cancer.