The phytocompound celastrol (a pentacyclic nortriterpenquinone), isolated from the roots of Tripterygium wilfordii (family Celastraceae), demonstrated pro-apoptotic properties in the A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line in the study by Yan et al. Celastrol inhibited lung cancer cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner by reducing the phosphorylation levels of STAT3 and the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. The gene discussed is BCL2; the disease is lung cancer.