CASP3 and non-small cell lung carcinoma: In vitro studies on NSCLC showed that treatment with calotropin promoted apoptosis by increasing the expression of pro-apoptosis genes: caspase-3, caspase-8, and apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) and downregulated expression of anti-apoptotic proteins: p53, B-cell lymphoma (Bcl 2) and Bclw (Paesmans et al., 2015).