Quercetin / uPA Cancer Research Results

QC, Quercetin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Plant pigment (flavonoid) found in red wine, onions, green tea, apples and berries.
Quercetin is thought to contribute to anticancer effects through several mechanisms:
-Antioxidant Activity:
-Induction of Apoptosis:modify Bax:Bcl-2 ratio
-Anti-inflammatory Effects:
-Cell Cycle Arrest:
-Inhibition of Angiogenesis and Metastasis: (VEGF)

Cellular Pathways:
-PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway: central to cell proliferation, survival, and metabolism.
-MAPK/ERK Pathway: influencing cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.
-NF-κB Pathway: downregulate NF-κB
-JAK/STAT Pathway: interfere with the activation of STAT3
-Apoptotic Pathways: intrinsic (mitochondrial) and extrinsic (death receptor-mediated) pathways

Quercetin has been used at doses around 500–1000 mg per day
Quercetin’s bioavailability from foods or standard supplements can be low.

-Note half-life 11 to 28 hours.
BioAv low 1-10%, poor water-solubility, consuming with fat may improve bioavialability. also piperine or VitC.
Pathways:
- induce ROS production in cancer cells (higher dose). Typicallys Lowers ROS in normal cells(unless it is high dose?)or depends on Redox status?. "quercetin paradox"
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓, Prx,
- Confusing info about Lowering AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓(some contrary), TrxR↓**, SOD↓(contrary), GSH↓ Catalase↓(contrary), HO1↓(some contrary), GPx↓(some contrary)
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, IGF-1↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, ROCK1↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓, TET↑
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1,
- inhibits glycolysis and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓,
- some indication of inhibiting Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, Notch2↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, α↓, ERK↓, JNK, - SREBP (related to cholesterol).
- 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 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose-, metal-, context-dependent) ↓ ROS Conditional Driver Biphasic redox modulation Quercetin exhibits pro-oxidant behavior in cancer cells while protecting normal cells
2 Mitochondrial integrity / intrinsic apoptosis ↓ ΔΨm; ↑ caspase activation ↔ preserved Driver Execution of intrinsic apoptosis Mitochondrial dysfunction is a central apoptosis route in cancer cells
3 PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis ↓ AKT / ↓ mTOR ↔ adaptive suppression Driver Growth and survival inhibition AKT/mTOR suppression is a consistently reported upstream effect in cancer models
4 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Secondary Reduced survival and inflammatory transcription NF-κB inhibition contributes to chemosensitization and apoptosis susceptibility
5 MAPK signaling (JNK / p38) ↑ JNK / ↑ p38 ↔ minimal Secondary Stress-mediated apoptosis signaling MAPK activation supports apoptosis downstream of redox stress
6 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G1/S or G2/M arrest ↔ largely spared Phenotypic Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest reflects disruption of growth signaling
7 HIF-1α hypoxia signaling ↓ HIF-1α ↔ minimal Secondary Reduced hypoxia tolerance Quercetin interferes with hypoxia-driven transcriptional programs
8 NRF2 antioxidant response ↑ NRF2 (adaptive, context-dependent) ↑ NRF2 (protective) Adaptive Stress compensation NRF2 induction reflects redox buffering rather than primary cytotoxicity


uPA, Urokinase plasminogen activator: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator) is a serine protease that plays a crucial role in the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, an enzyme responsible for degrading various components of the extracellular matrix (ECM). This activity is central to processes such as tissue remodeling, cell migration, and angiogenesis. In the context of cancer, uPA facilitates tumor invasion and metastasis by promoting ECM degradation, while its interaction with its receptor (uPAR) and inhibitors (such as PAI-1) forms a regulatory axis that is frequently dysregulated in malignancies.

Patients with higher pretreatment serum uPA (≥1 ng/ml) had significantly shorter OS.

Elevated uPA expression has been observed in a broad range of cancers, including breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. These high levels are often indicative of increased proteolytic activity within the tumor microenvironment.
Tumors with aggressive behavior often exhibit upregulation of uPA, along with its receptor uPAR. This upregulation enhances plasmin generation and leads to an environment conducive to invasion and metastasis.

Elevated uPA levels in tumor tissues have been strongly associated with poor clinical outcomes. High uPA expression is correlated with increased risk of metastasis, higher likelihood of recurrence, and reduced overall survival in several cancer types.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
85- QC,    Quercetin inhibits invasion, migration and signalling molecules involved in cell survival and proliferation of prostate cancer cell line (PC-3)
- in-vitro, Pca, PC3
uPA↓, uPAR↓, EGFR↓, NRAS↓, Jun↓, NF-kB↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, p38↑, MAPK↑, cJun↓, cFos↓, Raf↓, TumCI↓, TumCMig↓,
3372- QC,  FIS,  KaempF,    Anticancer Potential of Selected Flavonols: Fisetin, Kaempferol, and Quercetin on Head and Neck Cancers
- Review, HNSCC, NA
ROCK1↑, TumCCA↓, HSPs↓, RAS↓, ROS↑, Ca+2↑, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↑, Endon↑, MMP9↓, MMP2↓, MMP7↓, MMP-10↓, VEGF↓, NF-kB↓, p65↓, iNOS↓, COX2↓, uPA↓, PI3K↓, FAK↓, MEK↓, ERK↓, JNK↓, p38↓, cJun↓, FOXO3↑,
3369- QC,    Pharmacological basis and new insights of quercetin action in respect to its anti-cancer effects
- Review, Pca, NA
FAK↓, TumCCA↑, p‑pRB↓, CDK2↑, CycB/CCNB1↓, CDK1↓, EMT↓, PI3K↓, MAPK↓, Wnt↓, ROS↑, miR-21↑, Akt↓, NF-kB↓, FasL↑, Bak↑, BAX↑, Bcl-2↓, Casp3↓, Casp9↑, P53↑, p38↑, MAPK↑, Cyt‑c↑, PARP↓, CHOP↑, ROS↓, LDH↑, GRP78/BiP↑, ERK↑, MDA↓, SOD↑, GSH↑, NRF2↑, VEGF↓, PDGF↓, EGF↓, FGF↓, TNF-α↓, TGF-β↓, VEGFR2↓, EGFR↓, FGFR1↓, mTOR↓, cMyc↓, MMPs↓, LC3B-II↑, Beclin-1↑, IL1β↓, CRP↓, IL10↓, COX2↓, IL6↓, TLR4↓, Shh↓, HER2/EBBR2↓, NOTCH↓, DR5↑, HSP70/HSPA5↓, CSCs↓, angioG↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, IGFBP3↑, uPA↓, uPAR↓, RAS↓, Raf↓, TSP-1↑,
3368- QC,    The potential anti-cancer effects of quercetin on blood, prostate and lung cancers: An update
- Review, Var, NA
*Inflam↓, *antiOx↑, *AntiCan↑, Casp3↓, p‑Akt↓, p‑mTOR↓, p‑ERK↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, Hif1a↓, AntiAg↓, VEGFR2↓, EMT↓, EGFR↓, MMP2↓, MMP↓, TumMeta↓, MMPs↓, Akt↓, Snail↓, N-cadherin↓, Vim↓, E-cadherin↑, STAT3↓, TGF-β↓, ROS↓, P53↑, BAX↑, PKCδ↓, PI3K↓, COX2↓, cFLIP↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, cMyc↓, IL6↓, IL10↓, Cyt‑c↑, TumCCA↑, DNMTs↓, HDAC↓, ac‑H3↑, ac‑H4↑, Diablo↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, PARP1↑, eff↑, PTEN↑, VEGF↓, NO↓, iNOS↓, ChemoSen↑, eff↑, eff↑, eff↑, uPA↓, CXCR4↓, CXCL12↓, CLDN2↓, CDK6↓, MMP9↓, TSP-1↑, Ki-67↓, PCNA↓, ROS↑, ER Stress↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 4 of 4

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 4

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GSH↑, 1,   MDA↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 2,   ROS↑, 3,   SOD↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

EGF↓, 1,   FGFR1↓, 1,   MEK↓, 1,   MMP↓, 2,   Raf↓, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 2,   LDH↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   p‑Akt↓, 1,   Bak↑, 1,   BAX↑, 2,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Casp3↓, 2,   Casp3↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 2,   cFLIP↓, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 3,   Diablo↑, 1,   DR5↑, 1,   Endon↑, 1,   FasL↑, 1,   iNOS↓, 2,   JNK↓, 1,   MAPK↓, 1,   MAPK↑, 2,   p38↓, 1,   p38↑, 2,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

cJun↓, 2,   ac‑H3↑, 1,   ac‑H4↑, 1,   miR-21↑, 1,   p‑pRB↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

CHOP↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 1,   GRP78/BiP↑, 1,   HSP70/HSPA5↓, 1,   HSPs↓, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

Beclin-1↑, 1,   LC3B-II↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNMTs↓, 1,   P53↑, 2,   PARP↓, 1,   PARP1↑, 1,   PCNA↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK1↓, 1,   CDK2↑, 1,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   TumCCA↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

cFos↓, 1,   CSCs↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   ERK↓, 1,   ERK↑, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   FGF↓, 1,   FOXO3↑, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   IGFBP3↑, 1,   Jun↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   p‑mTOR↓, 1,   NOTCH↓, 1,   NRAS↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 3,   PTEN↑, 1,   RAS↓, 2,   Shh↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

AntiAg↓, 1,   Ca+2↑, 1,   CLDN2↓, 1,   CXCL12↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 1,   FAK↓, 2,   Ki-67↓, 1,   MMP-10↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 3,   MMP7↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 3,   MMPs↓, 2,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   PDGF↓, 1,   PKCδ↓, 1,   ROCK1↑, 1,   Snail↓, 1,   TGF-β↓, 2,   TSP-1↑, 2,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumMeta↓, 1,   uPA↓, 4,   uPAR↓, 2,   Vim↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 3,   Hif1a↓, 1,   NO↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 3,   VEGFR2↓, 2,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 3,   CRP↓, 1,   CXCR4↓, 1,   IL10↓, 2,   IL1β↓, 1,   IL6↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 3,   p65↓, 1,   TLR4↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

CDK6↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

ChemoSen↑, 1,   eff↑, 4,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

CRP↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 3,   HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 2,   Ki-67↓, 1,   LDH↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 129

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 3

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: uPA, Urokinase plasminogen activator
4 Quercetin
1 Fisetin
1 Kaempferol
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#:140  Target#:428  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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