Furthermore, L. plantarum-derived exopolysaccharides increase reactive oxygen species levels and upregulate the expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins such as Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, thus contributing to the apoptosis in HT-29 CRC tumor cells (Sun et al, 2021). The gene discussed is CASP9; the disease is colorectal carcinoma.