CASP9 and cancer: Kim YS et al. demonstrated (Kim et al., 2014) that dousterol can induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells by upregulating pro-apoptotic gene expression (Bax protein and p53 gene), downregulating anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 expression, activating pro-apoptotic caspase-8, caspase-9 protein expression, and by damaging cellular DNA, and can be used as a potential anti-cancer drug for liver cancer treatment.