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). This evidence concerns the gene CASP9 and neoplasm.