Juglone / MAPK Cancer Research Results

JG, Juglone: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Found in roots, leaves, nut-hulls, bark and wood of walnut trees.
Juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone)
Juglans nigra refers to the black walnut tree, which is one of the most well-known sources of juglone
-Research has focused on the hulls (the green outer covering of the walnut) because they have the highest concentrations.
-Fresh hulls can contain juglone levels in the range of approximately 1–5% of the dry weight

-Juglone can redox cycle to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).
-Increasing Bax, decreasing Bcl‑2, caspase activation, and MMP depolarization.
-Modulation of MAPK pathways (including ERK, JNK, and p38)
-May inhibit NF‑κB signaling
-Cause DNA damage or stress that, in turn, leads to p53 pathway activation— Pin1 Inhibition
–Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase, is frequently overexpressed in cancer.

-ic50 maybe 5-10uM
-For matching 5uM, crude estimate is 5mg consumption of juglone required which might be 1.5 g of black walnut hull material

Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance Ref
1 Redox cycling (quinone–semiquinone system) ↑↑ ROS Oxidative stress overload Juglone can act as a redox-cycling quinone; ROS elevation is a dominant upstream driver in multiple cancer models (ref)
2 Thiol buffering (GSH depletion) ↓ GSH Loss of redox buffering In HL-60 leukemia cells, juglone induces ROS and explicitly depletes GSH; antioxidants block downstream apoptosis markers (ref)
3 Mitochondrial integrity (ΔΨm) ↓ ΔΨm Mitochondrial dysfunction In LNCaP prostate cancer cells, juglone decreases mitochondrial potential (ΔΨ) during intrinsic apoptosis (ref)
4 Intrinsic apoptosis (Caspase-9 → Caspase-3) ↑ Caspase-9/3 activation Programmed cell death Same LNCaP evidence base: intrinsic apoptosis with activation of caspases 3 and 9 is reported for juglone (ref)
5 DNA damage / genotoxic stress ↑ DNA damage Checkpoint activation and death signaling Juglone is reported to have genotoxic effects (DNA damage) in melanoma models, consistent with ROS-driven injury (ref)
6 p53 stress response ↑ p53 pathway (activation) Cell-cycle arrest / apoptosis cooperation Human liver cancer model: juglone drives apoptosis and autophagy via a ROS-mediated p53 pathway (in vitro and in vivo) (ref)
7 MAPK stress pathways (JNK / p38) ↑ JNK / ↑ p38 Pro-death stress signaling Mechanistic synthesis notes juglone induces ROS and activates JNK and p38 MAPK, contributing to cell death signaling (ref)
8 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB Reduced pro-survival transcription Literature reports juglone inhibits NF-κB production/signaling in colonic cancer cell contexts (noted as prior work) (ref)
9 PI3K–AKT survival pathway ↓ PI3K / ↓ p-AKT Survival pathway suppression NSCLC: juglone increases ROS and inhibits PI3K/Akt signaling; NAC (ROS scavenger) attenuates apoptosis and pathway changes (ref)
10 Cell cycle control ↑ arrest Proliferation blockade NSCLC: juglone arrests the cell cycle alongside ROS rise and apoptosis marker changes (ref)
11 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (stress-associated) Stress adaptation / death crosstalk Juglone induces both apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells via MAPK pathway modulation (with ROS-MAPK coupling) (ref)
12 Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF) ↓ VEGF Reduced vascular support Pancreatic cancer cell lines: juglone reduces VEGF gene expression (and other metastasis/angiogenesis-related genes) at sub-IC50 exposure (ref)


MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: CGL-CS
Type:
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a group of proteins involved in transmitting signals from the cell surface to the nucleus, playing a crucial role in various cellular processes, including growth, differentiation, and apoptosis (programmed cell death).

MAPK Pathways: The MAPK family includes several pathways, the most notable being:
1.ERK (Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase): Often associated with cell proliferation and survival.
2.JNK (c-Jun N-terminal Kinase): Typically involved in stress responses and apoptosis.
3.p38 MAPK: Associated with inflammatory responses and apoptosis.

Inhibitors: Targeting the MAPK pathway has become a strategy in cancer therapy. For example, BRAF inhibitors (like vemurafenib) are used in treating melanoma with BRAF mutations.
Altered Expression Levels:
Overexpression: Many cancers exhibit overexpression of MAPK pathway components, such as RAS, BRAF, and MEK. This overexpression can lead to increased signaling activity, promoting cell proliferation and survival.
Downregulation: In some cases, negative regulators of the MAPK pathway (e.g., MAPK phosphatases) may be downregulated, leading to enhanced MAPK signaling.
The expression levels of MAPK pathway components can serve as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response. For example, high levels of phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK) may indicate active MAPK signaling and poor prognosis in certain cancers.

Numerous reports indicate that the MAPK pathway plays a major role in tumor progression and invasion, while inhibition of MAPK signaling reduces invasion.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
5118- JG,    Juglone induces apoptosis and autophagy via modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells
- in-vitro, HCC, HepG2
m-ROS↑, DNAdam↑, Apoptosis↑, TumAuto↑, p38↑, MAPK↑, JNK↑, MMP↓, LC3II↑, Beclin-1↑,
5099- JG,    Juglone induces ferroptosis in glioblastoma cells by inhibiting the Nrf2-GPX4 axis through the phosphorylation of p38MAPK
- vitro+vivo, GBM, LN229 - vitro+vivo, GBM, T98G
Ferroptosis↑, p‑MAPK↑, NRF2↓, GPx4↓, TumPF↓, Apoptosis↑, ROS↑, GSH↓, lipid-P↑, Ki-67↓, TumCG↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 2 of 2

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 2

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

Ferroptosis↑, 1,   GPx4↓, 1,   GSH↓, 1,   lipid-P↑, 1,   NRF2↓, 1,   ROS↑, 1,   m-ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

MMP↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Apoptosis↑, 2,   Ferroptosis↑, 1,   JNK↑, 1,   MAPK↑, 1,   p‑MAPK↑, 1,   p38↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes

Beclin-1↑, 1,   LC3II↑, 1,   TumAuto↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

DNAdam↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

TumCG↓, 1,  

Migration

Ki-67↓, 1,   TumPF↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

Ki-67↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 22

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Total Targets: 0

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase
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#:105  Target#:181  State#:%  Dir#:%
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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