CASP3 and Bloom syndrome: As shown in Figure 5, compared to rats of the sham group, expression of TGF-β1, p/t p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and p/t extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and cleaved caspase 3 proteins was notably (p < 0.001) elevated in the BLM-induced group.