Curcumin / ER Stress Cancer Research Results

CUR, Curcumin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Tumeric. Member of the ginger family.Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Has iron-chelating, iron-chelating properties. Ferritin. But still known to increase Iron in Cancer cells.
- GSH depletion in cancer cells, exhaustion of the antioxidant defense system. But still raises GSH↑ in normal cells.
- Higher concentrations (5-10 μM) of curcumin induce autophagy and ROS production
- Inhibition of TrxR, shifting the enzyme from an antioxidant to a prooxidant
- Strong inhibitor of Glo-I, , causes depletion of cellular ATP and GSH
- Curcumin has been found to act as an activator of Nrf2, (maybe bad in cancer cells?), hence could be combined with Nrf2 knockdown
-may suppress CSC: suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Clinical studies testing curcumin in cancer patients have used a range of dosages, often between 500 mg and 8 g per day; however, many studies note that doses on the lower end may not achieve sufficient plasma concentrations for a therapeutic anticancer effect in humans.
• Formulations designed to improve curcumin absorption (like curcumin combined with piperine, nanoparticle formulations, or liposomal curcumin) are often employed in clinical trials to enhance its bioavailability.

-Note half-life 6 hrs.
BioAv is poor, use piperine or other enhancers
Pathways:
- induce ROS production at high concentration. Lowers ROS at lower concentrations
curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant when blue light is applied
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
but conversely is known as a NRF2↑ activator in cancer
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, n-myc↓, sox2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR**,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells Label Primary Interpretation Notes
1 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Driver Suppression of survival and inflammatory transcription NF-κB is a primary, repeatedly validated curcumin target explaining pleiotropic downstream effects
2 STAT3 signaling ↓ STAT3 phosphorylation / activity ↔ or mild suppression Driver Loss of pro-survival and proliferative signaling STAT3 inhibition contributes to growth arrest, apoptosis sensitization, and reduced cytokine signaling in tumors
3 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose- & context-dependent) ↓ ROS / buffered Conditional Driver Biphasic redox modulation Curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant in cancer cells with high basal stress while acting antioxidant in normal cells
4 Mitochondrial integrity / intrinsic apoptosis ↓ ΔΨm; ↑ caspase activation ↔ preserved Driver Execution of intrinsic apoptosis Mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation occur downstream of NF-κB/STAT3 and ROS effects
5 PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis ↓ AKT / ↓ mTOR ↔ or adaptive suppression Secondary Reduced growth and anabolic signaling AKT/mTOR inhibition contributes to growth suppression and autophagy induction in cancer cells
6 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (protective or pro-death) ↑ adaptive autophagy Secondary Stress adaptation vs cell death Autophagy may be cytoprotective or cooperate with apoptosis depending on context and dose
7 HIF-1α / VEGF hypoxia–angiogenesis axis ↓ HIF-1α; ↓ VEGF ↔ minimal effect Secondary Anti-angiogenic pressure Suppression of hypoxia-driven transcription limits angiogenesis and tumor adaptation
8 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G2/M or G1 arrest ↔ largely spared Phenotypic Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest reflects upstream signaling and epigenetic effects rather than direct CDK inhibition
9 Migration / invasion (EMT, MMP axis) ↓ migration & invasion Phenotypic Anti-metastatic phenotype Reduced EMT markers and protease activity limit invasive behavior
10 Epigenetic regulation (p300/CBP HAT activity) ↓ histone acetylation ↔ modest Secondary Transcriptional reprogramming Curcumin modulates chromatin via HAT inhibition rather than classic HDAC inhibition


ER Stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling pathway: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Protein expression of ATF, GRP78, and GADD153 which is a hall marker of ER stress.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling pathway plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and responding to various stressors, including those encountered in cancer. When cells experience stress, such as the accumulation of misfolded proteins, they activate a series of signaling pathways collectively known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR aims to restore normal function by enhancing the protein-folding capacity of the ER, degrading misfolded proteins, and, if the stress is unresolved, triggering apoptosis.
The activation of ER stress pathways can contribute to resistance against chemotherapy and targeted therapies. Cancer cells may utilize the UPR to survive treatment-induced stress, making it challenging to achieve effective therapeutic outcomes.

-ER stress-associated proteins include: phosphorylation of PERK, eIF2α, ATF4, CHOP and cleaved-caspase 12



Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2635- Api,  CUR,    Synergistic Effect of Apigenin and Curcumin on Apoptosis, Paraptosis and Autophagy-related Cell Death in HeLa Cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, HeLa
TumCD↑, eff↑, TumAuto↑, ER Stress↑, Paraptosis↑, GRP78/BiP↓, Dose↝,
2821- CUR,    Antioxidant curcumin induces oxidative stress to kill tumor cells (Review)
- Review, Var, NA
*antiOx↑, *NRF2↑, *ROS↓, *Inflam↓, ROS↑, p‑ERK↑, ER Stress↑, mtDam↑, Apoptosis↑, Akt↓, mTOR↓, HO-1↑, Fenton↑, GSH↓, Iron↑, p‑JNK↑, Cyt‑c↑, ATF6↑, CHOP↑,
2654- CUR,    Oxidative Stress Inducers in Cancer Therapy: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence
- Review, Var, NA
ROS↑, Catalase↓, SOD1↓, GLO-I↓, NADPH↓, TumCCA↑, Apoptosis↑, Akt↓, ER Stress↑, JNK↑, STAT3↓, BioAv↑,
132- CUR,    Targeting multiple pro-apoptotic signaling pathways with curcumin in prostate cancer cells
- in-vitro, Pca, PC3
TumCCA↑, ROS↑, TumAuto↑, UPR↑, ER Stress↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, Casp12↑, PARP↑, other↝, GRP78/BiP↑, PDI↑, eIF2α↑, other↝,
143- CUR,    Nonautophagic cytoplasmic vacuolation death induction in human PC-3M prostate cancer by curcumin through reactive oxygen species -mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress
- in-vitro, Pca, LNCaP - in-vitro, Pca, DU145 - in-vitro, Pca, PC3
ER Stress↑, CHOP↑, GRP78/BiP↑, ROS↑, LC3II↑, eff↓, tumCV↓,
117- CUR,    Increased Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species Mediates the Anti-Cancer Effects of WZ35 via Activating Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway in Prostate Cancer Cells
- in-vivo, Pca, RM-1 - in-vivo, Pca, DU145
ROS↑, tumCV↓, Apoptosis↑, TumCCA↑, Ca+2↑, eff↓, ER Stress↑,
118- CUR,    Curcumin analog WZ35 induced cell death via ROS-dependent ER stress and G2/M cell cycle arrest in human prostate cancer cells
- in-vitro, Pca, PC3 - in-vitro, Pca, DU145
ROS↑, Bcl-2↓, PARP↑, cDC2↓, CycB/CCNB1↓, MDM2↓, eff↓, eIF2α↑, ATF4↑, CHOP↑, ER Stress↑, TumCCA↑,
150- NRF,  CUR,  docx,    Subverting ER-Stress towards Apoptosis by Nelfinavir and Curcumin Coexposure Augments Docetaxel Efficacy in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells
- in-vitro, Pca, C4-2B
p‑Akt↓, p‑eIF2α↑, ER Stress↑, ATF4↑, CHOP↑, TRIB3↑, ChemoSen↑, Casp3↑, cl‑PARP↑, BID↑, XBP-1↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 8 of 8

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 8

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

Catalase↓, 1,   Fenton↑, 1,   GSH↓, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   Iron↑, 1,   ROS↑, 6,   SOD1↓, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

mtDam↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

GLO-I↓, 1,   NADPH↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Akt↓, 2,   p‑Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 3,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   BID↑, 1,   Casp12↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 2,   Casp9↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   JNK↑, 1,   p‑JNK↑, 1,   MDM2↓, 1,   Paraptosis↑, 1,   TumCD↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

other↝, 2,   tumCV↓, 2,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress

ATF6↑, 1,   CHOP↑, 4,   eIF2α↑, 2,   p‑eIF2α↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 8,   GRP78/BiP↓, 1,   GRP78/BiP↑, 2,   UPR↑, 1,   XBP-1↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes

LC3II↑, 1,   TumAuto↑, 2,  

DNA Damage & Repair

PARP↑, 2,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

CycB/CCNB1↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 4,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

cDC2↓, 1,   p‑ERK↑, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,  

Migration

Ca+2↑, 1,   TRIB3↑, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

ATF4↑, 2,   PDI↑, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 1,   Dose↝, 1,   eff↓, 3,   eff↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

TRIB3↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 55

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

antiOx↑, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

Inflam↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: ER Stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling pathway
8 Curcumin
1 Apigenin (mainly Parsley)
1 nelfinavir/Viracept
1 Docetaxel
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells
Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:65  Target#:103  State#:%  Dir#:2
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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