condition found tbRes List
TQ, Thymoquinone: Click to Expand ⟱
Features: Anti-oxidant, anti-tumor
Thymoquinone is a bioactive compound found in the seeds of Nigella sativa, commonly known as black seed or black cumin.
Pathways:
-Cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, ROS generation in cancer cells
-inhibit the activation of NF-κB, Suppress the PI3K/Akt signaling cascade
-Inhibit angiogenic factors such as VEGF, MMPs
-Inhibit HDACs, UHRF1, and DNMTs

-Note half-life 3-6hrs.
BioAv low oral bioavailability due to its lipophilic nature. Note refridgeration of Black seed oil improves the stability of TQ.
DIY: ~1 part lecithin : 2–3 parts black seed oil : 4–5 parts warm water. (chat ai)
Pathways:
- usually induce ROS production in Cancer cells, and lowers ROS in normal cells
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓, Prx,
- May Low AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓(usually contrary), GSH↓ HO1↓(contrary), GPx↓
- 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↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, TGF-β↓, 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↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PDKs↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, α↓, ERK↓, JNK,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells


PARP, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage is a hallmark of caspase activation. PARP (Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase) is a family of proteins involved in a variety of cellular processes, including DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death. PARP enzymes play a crucial role in repairing single-strand breaks in DNA.
PARP has gained significant attention, particularly in the treatment of certain types of tumors, such as those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. These mutations impair the cell's ability to repair double-strand breaks in DNA through homologous recombination. Cancer cells with these mutations can become reliant on PARP for survival, making them particularly sensitive to PARP inhibitors.
PARP inhibitors, such as olaparib, rucaparib, and niraparib, have been developed as targeted therapies for cancers associated with BRCA mutations.

PARP Family:
The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) are a family of enzymes involved in a number of cellular processes, including DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death.
PARP1 is the predominant family member responsible for detecting DNA strand breaks and initiating repair processes, especially through base excision repair (BER).

PARP1 Overexpression:
In several cancer types—including breast, ovarian, prostate, and lung cancers—elevated PARP1 expression and/or activity has been reported.
High PARP1 expression in certain cancers has been associated with aggressive tumor behavior and resistance to therapies (especially those that induce DNA damage).
Increased PARP1 activity may correlate with poorer overall survival in tumors that rely on DNA repair for survival.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3413- TQ,    Thymoquinone induces apoptosis in human colon cancer HCT116 cells through inactivation of STAT3 by blocking JAK2- and Src‑mediated phosphorylation of EGF receptor tyrosine kinase
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116
tumCV↓, TQ significantly reduced the viability of human colon cancer HCT116 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner
Apoptosis↓, TQ induced apoptosis, which was associated with the upregulation of Bax and inhibition of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression
BAX↑,
Bcl-2↓,
Casp9↑, TQ also activated caspase-9,-7, and -3, and induced the cleavage of poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).
Casp7↑,
Casp3↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
STAT3↓, TQ attenuated the expression of STAT3 target gene products, such as survivin, c-Myc, and cyclin-D1, -D2, and enhanced the expression of cell cycle inhibitory proteins p27 and p21.
survivin↓,
cMyc↓,
cycD1↓,
p27↑,
P21↑,
EGFR↓, TQ attenuated the phosphorylation of upstream kinases, such as Janus-activated kinase-2 (JAK2), Src kinase and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase
ROS↑, According to this study, TQ-induced cytotoxicity in DLD-1 colon cancer cells was associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species, activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase, and the cleavage of caspase-7

3414- TQ,    Thymoquinone induces apoptosis through inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling via production of ROS in human renal cancer Caki cells
- in-vitro, RCC, Caki-1
tumCV↓, TQ significantly reduced the cell viability and induced apoptosis in Caki cells as evidenced by the induction of p53 and Bax, release of cytochrome c, cleavage of caspase-9, and -3 and PARP and the inhibition of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression.
Apoptosis↑,
P53↑,
BAX↑,
Cyt‑c↑,
cl‑Casp9↑,
cl‑Casp3↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
Bcl-2↓,
Bcl-xL↓,
p‑STAT3↓, TQ inhibited the constitutive phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) in Caki cells by blocking the phosphorylation of upstream Janus-activated kinase-2 (JAK2) kinases.
p‑JAK2↓,
STAT3↓, TQ attenuated the expression of STAT3 target gene products, such as survivin, cyclin D1, and D2.
survivin↓,
cycD1↓,
ROS↑, Treatment with TQ generated ROS in these renal cancer cells.
eff↓, Pretreatment of cells with ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) abrogated the inhibitory effect of TQ on the JAK2/STAT3 signaling and rescued cells from TQ-induced apoptosis

3415- TQ,    The anti-neoplastic impact of thymoquinone from Nigella sativa on small cell lung cancer: In vitro and in vivo investigations
- in-vitro, Lung, H446
tumCV↓, TQ reduced cell viability, induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, depleted ROS, and altered protein expression in associated signaling pathways.
TumCCA↑,
ROS↓, With regards to ROS in the current study, TQ dose-dependently decreased intracellular ROS levels in all SCLC cells except H446 cells upon 24-hour treatment with TQ.
CycB↑, TQ induced upregulation of cyclin B1 and cyclin D3 in H69-adherent and H446 cells, respectively. Cyclins A2, E1, and cdc2 were downregulated, while cyclin D3 was upregulated in H841-adherent cells
CycD3↑,
cycA1↓,
cycE↓,
cDC2↓,
antiOx↑, TQ acted as an antioxidant.
PARP↓, TQ downregulated intratumoral PARP
NRF2↓, TQ exerts its antioxidative effect by upregulating nuclear protein nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), hence amplifying antioxidant response element (ARE) expression.
ARE/EpRE↑,
eff↑, To confirm that the antioxidative action of TQ is anti-survival for cells, H841 cells were employed as a model and treated with NAC. NAC confirmed that ROS depletion led to a decrease in the cell viability of SCLC cells.

3397- TQ,    Thymoquinone: A Promising Therapeutic Agent for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer
- Review, CRC, NA
ChemoSen↑, TQ can be used synergistically with chemotherapeutic agents to enhance their anticancer effects and to influence the expression of signaling pathways and other genes important in cancer development.
*Half-Life↝, These parameters remained associated with an elimination half-life (t1/2) of 63.43 ± 10.69 and 274.61 ± 8.48 min for intravenous and oral administration, respectively
*BioAv↝, TQ is characterized by slow absorption, rapid metabolism, rapid elimination and low physicochemical stability, which limits its pharmaceutical applications
*antiOx↑, Biologically active compounds from Nigella sativa have been shown to have antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, antiepileptic and immunomodulatory activities,
*Inflam↓,
*hepatoP↑,
TumCP↓, TQ exerts tumorigenic effects in a variety of ways, including modulation of the epigenetic machinery and effects on proliferation, the cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, carcinogenesis and metastasis
TumCCA↑,
Apoptosis↑,
angioG↑,
selectivity↑, TQ has low toxicity to normal cells, as confirmed by several studies, including studies on normal mouse kidney cells, normal human lung fibroblasts and normal human intestinal cells.
JNK↑, activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and p38, as well as the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B) and the reduction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K) activi
p38↑,
p‑NF-kB↑,
ERK↓,
PI3K↓,
PTEN↑, showing higher expression of p21/p27/PTEN/BAX/Cyto-C/Casp-3
Akt↓, TQ has also been shown to downregulate the PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR and WNT/?-catenin pathways, which are critical for tumorigenesis
mTOR↓,
EMT↓, downregulating the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) transcription factors twist-related protein 1 (TWIST1) and E-cadherin
Twist↓,
E-cadherin↓,
ROS⇅, TQ has been shown to act as an antioxidant at low concentrations. Higher concentrations, however, induce apoptosis of cancer cells through the induction of oxidative stress
*Catalase↑, Thymoquinone upregulates the expression of genes encoding specific enzymes, such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase and glutathione peroxidase, whose role is to protect against reactive oxygen species
*SOD↑,
*GSTA1↑,
*GPx↑,
*PGE2↓, TQ has the ability to downregulate NF-?B, interleukin-1?, tumor necrosis factor alpha, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2,) matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), the interferon regulatory factor, which are associated with inflammation a
*IL1β↓,
*COX2↓,
*MMP13↓,
MMPs↓, Figure 2
TumMeta↓,
VEGF↓,
STAT3↓, TQ affects the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by blocking the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling
BAX↑, upregulation of Bax and inhibition of Bcl-2 and B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xl) expression, as well as activated caspase-9, -7 and -3, and induced cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).
Bcl-2↑,
Casp9↑,
Casp7↑,
Casp3↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
survivin↓, TQ also attenuated the expression of STAT3 target gene products, such as survivin, c-Myc and cyclin-D1, -D2, and enhanced the expression of cell cycle inhibitory proteins p27 and p21
cMyc↓,
cycD1↓,
p27↑,
P21↑,
GSK‐3β↓, TQ reduces the levels of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-glycogen synthase kinase 3 (p-GSK3?) and ?-catenin, thereby inhibiting downstream COX-2 expression, which in turn leads to a reduction in PGE2
β-catenin/ZEB1↓,
chemoP↑, results support the potential use of thymoquinone in colorectal cancer chemoprevention, as TQ is effective in protecting and treating the DMH-initiated early phase of colorectal cancer.

2129- TQ,  doxoR,    Thymoquinone up-regulates PTEN expression and induces apoptosis in doxorubicin-resistant human breast cancer cells
- in-vitro, BC, MCF-7
ChemoSen↑, TQ greatly inhibits doxorubicin-resistant human breast cancer MCF-7/DOX cell proliferation
PTEN↑, TQ treatment increased cellular levels of PTEN proteins
p‑Akt↓, resulting in a substantial decrease of phosphorylated Akt, a known regulator of cell survival.
TumCCA↑, TQ arrested MCF-7/DOX cells at G2/M phase and increased cellular levels of p53 and p21 proteins.
P53↑,
P21↑,
Apoptosis↑, TQ-induced apoptosis was associated with disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of caspases and PARP cleavage in MCF-7/DOX cells.
MMP↓,
Casp↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
Bax:Bcl2↑, TQ treatment increased Bax/Bcl2 ratio via up-regulating Bax and down-regulating Bcl2 proteins.
eff↓, PTEN silencing by target specific siRNA enabled the suppression of TQ-induced apoptosis resulting in increased cell survival.
DNAdam↓, TQ treatment arrests MCF-7/DOX Cells in G2/M phase and induces DNA damage
p‑γH2AX↑, time-dependent increase in the phosphorylation of H2AX was observed following TQ treatment
ROS↑, DNA damage caused by TQ induced reactive species and oxidative stress.

3422- TQ,    Thymoquinone, as a Novel Therapeutic Candidate of Cancers
- Review, Var, NA
selectivity↑, TQ selectively inhibits the cancer cells’ proliferation in leukemia [9], breast [10], lungs [11], larynx [12], colon [13,14], and osteosarcoma [15]. However, there is no effect against healthy cells
P53↑, It also re-expressed tumor suppressor genes (TSG), such as p53 and Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in lung cancer
PTEN↑,
NF-kB↓, antitumor properties by regulating different targets, such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-Kb), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and c-Myc [1], which resulted in caspases protein activation
PPARγ↓,
cMyc↓,
Casp↑,
*BioAv↓, Due to hydrophobicity, there are limitations in the bioavailability and drug formation of TQ.
BioAv↝, TQ is sensitive to light; a short period of exposure results in severe degradation, regardless of the solution’s acidity and solvent type [27]. It is also unstable in alkaline solutions because TQ’s stability decreases with rising pH
eff↑, Encapsulating TQ with CS improves the uptake and bioavailability of TQ but has low encapsulation efficiency (35%)
survivin↓, TQ showed antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic potency on breast cancer through the suppression of anti-apoptotic proteins, such as survivin, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-2
Bcl-xL↓,
Bcl-2↓,
Akt↓, treating doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7/DOX cells with TQ inhibited Akt and Bcl2 phosphorylation and increased the expression of PTEN and apoptotic regulators such as Bax, cleaved PARP, cleaved caspases, p53, and p21 [
BAX↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
CXCR4↓, inhibited metastasis with significant inhibition of chemokine receptor Type 4 (CXCR4), which is considered a poor prognosis indicator, matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), vascular endothelial growth factor Receptor 2 (VEGFR2), Ki67, and COX2
MMP9↓,
VEGFR2↓,
Ki-67↓,
COX2↓,
JAK2↓, TQ at 25, 50 and 75 µM inhibited JAK2 and c-Src activity and induced apoptosis by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3 and STAT3 downstream genes, such as Bcl-2, cyclin D, survivin, and VEGF, and upregulating caspases-3, caspases-7, and caspases-9
cSrc↓,
Apoptosis↑,
p‑STAT3↓,
cycD1↓,
Casp3↑,
Casp7↑,
Casp9↑,
N-cadherin↓, downregulated the mesenchymal genes expression N-cadherin, vimentin, and TWIST, while upregulating epithelial genes like E-cadherin and cytokeratin-19.
Vim↓,
Twist↓,
E-cadherin↑,
ChemoSen↑, The combined treatment of 5 μM TQ and 2 μg/mL cisplatin was more effective in cancer growth and progression than either agent alone in a xenograft tumor mouse model.
eff↑, TQ–artemisinin hybrid therapy (2.6 μM) showed an enhanced ROS generation level and concomitant DNA damage induction in human colon cancer cells, while not affecting nonmalignant colon epithelial at 100 μM
EMT↓, TQ inhibits the survival signaling pathways to reduce carcinogenesis progress rate, and decreases cancer metastasis through regulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).
ROS↑, Apoptosis is induced by TQ in cancer cells through producing ROS, demethylating and re-expressing the TSG
DNMT1↓, inhibits DNMT1, figure 2
eff↑, TQ–vitamin D3 combination significantly reduced pro-cancerous molecules (Wnt, β-catenin, NF-κB, COX-2, iNOS, VEGF and HSP-90) a
EZH2↓, reduced angiogenesis by downregulating significant angiogenic genes such as versican (VCAN), the growth factor receptor-binding protein 2 (Grb2), and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), which participates in histone methylatio
hepatoP↑, Moreover, TQ improved liver function as well as reduced hepatocellular carcinoma progression
Zeb1↓, TQ decreases the Twist1 and Zeb1 promoter activities,
RadioS↑, TQ combined with radiation inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis more than a TQ–cisplatin combination against SCC25 and CAL27 cell lines
HDAC↓, TQ has inhibited the histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzyme and reduced its total activity.
HDAC1↓, as well as decreasing the expression of HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3 by 40–60%
HDAC2↓,
HDAC3↓,
*NAD↑, In non-cancer cells, TQ can increase cellular NAD+
*SIRT1↑, An increase in the levels of intracellular NAD+ led to the activation of the SIRT1-dependent metabolic pathways
SIRT1↓, On the other hand, TQ induced apoptosis by downregulating SIRT1 and upregulating p73 in the T cell leukemia Jurkat cell line
*Inflam↓, TQ treatment of male Sprague–Dawley rats has reduced the inflammatory markers (CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and IL-4) triggered by sodium nitrite
*CRP↓,
*TNF-α↓,
*IL6↓,
*IL1β↓,
*eff↑, The TQ–piperin combination has also decreased the oxidative damage triggered by microcystin in liver tissue and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and NO, while inducing glutathione (GSH) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathi
*MDA↓,
*NO↓,
*GSH↑,
*SOD↑,
*Catalase↑,
*GPx↑,
PI3K↓, repressing the activation of vital pathways, such as JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT/mTOR.
mTOR↓,

3416- TQ,    Thymoquinone induces apoptosis in bladder cancer cell via endoplasmic reticulum stress-dependent mitochondrial pathway
- in-vitro, Bladder, T24 - in-vitro, Bladder, 253J - in-vitro, Nor, SV-HUC-1
TumCP↓, TQ has a significant cytotoxicity on bladder cancer cells and can inhibit their proliferation and induce apoptosis.
Apoptosis↑,
ER Stress↑, The protein changes of Bcl-2, Bax, cytochrome c and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins (GRP78, CHOP, and caspase-12) revealed that the anticancer effect of TQ was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and the endoplasmic reticulum stre
cl‑Casp3↑, TQ increased the cleaved subunits of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-7 and PARP (Fig. 2B) and increased caspase-3 activity (Fig. 2C) in a dose-dependent manner.
cl‑Casp8↑,
cl‑Casp7↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
Cyt‑c↑, can increase the release of cytochrome c
PERK↑, TQ increased the expression of PERK, IRE1 and ATF6 and the expression of downstream molecules such as p-eIF2a and ATF4 in a dose-dependent manner
IRE1↑,
ATF6↑,
p‑eIF2α↑,
ATF4↑,
GRP78/BiP↑, GRP78, IRE1, ATF6, ATF4 and CHOP was significantly increased after TQ treatment
CHOP↑,

2095- TQ,    Review on the Potential Therapeutic Roles of Nigella sativa in the Treatment of Patients with Cancer: Involvement of Apoptosis
- Review, Var, NA
TumCCA↑, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, ROS generation
Apoptosis↑,
ROS↑,
Cyt‑c↑, release of mitochondrial cytochrome C, an increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, activations of caspases-3, -9 and -8, cleavage of PARP
Bax:Bcl2↑,
Casp3↑,
Casp9↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
P53↑, increased expressions of p53 and p21,
P21↑,
cMyc↓, decreased expressions of oncoproteins (c-Myc), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK-4).
hTERT↓,
cycD1↓,
CDK4↓,
NF-kB↓, inhibited NF-κB activation
IAP1↓, (IAP1, IAP2, XIAP Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and survivin), proliferative (cyclin D1, cyclooxygenase-2, and c-Myc), and angiogenic (matrix metalloproteinase-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor)
IAP2↓,
XIAP↓,
Bcl-xL↓,
survivin↓,
COX2↓,
MMP9↓,
VEGF↓,
eff↑, combination of TQ and cisplatin in the treatment of lung cancer in a mouse xenograft model showed that TQ was able to inhibit cell proliferation (nearly 90%), reduce cell viability, induce apoptosis, and reduce tumor volume and tumor weight

2085- TQ,    Anticancer Activities of Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin)
- Review, Var, NA
MMP↓, TQ induces apoptosis, disrupts mitochondrial membrane potential and triggers the activation of caspases 8, 9 and 3 in HL-60 cells.
Casp3↑,
Casp8↑,
Casp9↓,
cl‑PARP↑, PARP cleavage and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm.
Cyt‑c↑,
Bax:Bcl2↑, marked increase in Bax/Bcl2 ratios
NF-kB↓, TQ also down-regulates the expression of NF-kappa B-regulated antiapoptotic (IAP1, IAP2, XIAP Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and survivin) gene products
IAP1↓,
IAP2↓,
XIAP↓,
Bcl-xL↓,
survivin↓,
cJun↑, TQ inducing apoptosis by the activation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in pancreatic cancer cell.
p38↑,
Akt↑, TQ effectively inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell migration, invasion, and tube formation by suppressing the activation of AKT
chemoP↑, TQ can lower the toxicity of other anticancer drugs (for example, cyclophosphamide) by an up-regulation of antioxidant mechanisms, indicating a potential clinical application for these agents to minimize the toxic effects of treatment with anticancer
radioP↑, Cemek et al. (2006) showed that N. sativa and glutathione treatment significantly antagonize the effects of radiation. Therefore, N. sativa may be a beneficial agent in protection against ionizing radiation-related tissue injury.

2084- TQ,    Thymoquinone, as an anticancer molecule: from basic research to clinical investigation
- Review, Var, NA
*ROS↓, An interesting study reported that thymoquinone is actually a potent apoptosis inducer in cancer cells, but it exerts antiapoptotic effect through attenuating oxidative stress in other types of cell injury
*chemoP↑, antioxidant activity of thymoquinone is responsible for its chemopreventive activities
ROS↑, other studies reported thymoquinone induce apoptosis in cancer cells by exerting oxidative damage
ROS⇅, Another hypothesis states that thymoquinone acts as an antioxidant at lower concentrations and a prooxidant at higher concentrations
MUC4↓, Torres et al. [17] revealed that thymoquinone down-regulates glycoprotein mucin 4 (MUC4)
selectivity↑, thymoquinone was found to inhibit DNA synthesis, proliferation, and viability of cancerous cells, such as LNCaP, C4-B, DU145, and PC-3, but not noncancerous BPH-1 prostate epithelial cells [20].
AR↓, Down-regulation of androgen receptor (AR) and cell proliferation regulator E2F-1 was indicated as the mechanism behind thymoquinone’s action in prostate cancer
cycD1↓, expression of STAT3-regulated gene products, such as cyclin D1, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin, Mcl-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), was inhibited by thymoquinone, which ultimately increased apoptosis and killed cancer cells
Bcl-2↓,
Bcl-xL↓,
survivin↓,
Mcl-1↓,
VEGF↓,
cl‑PARP↑, induction of the cleavage of poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP
ROS↑, In ALL cell line CEM-ss, thymoquinone treatment generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and HSP70
HSP70/HSPA5↑,
P53↑, thymoquinone can induce apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells via the up-regulation of p53 expression
miR-34a↑, Thymoquinone significantly increased the expression of miR-34a via p53, and down-regulated Rac1 expression
Rac1↓,
TumCCA↑, In hepatic carcinoma, thymoquinone induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by repressing the Notch signaling pathway
NOTCH↓,
NF-kB↓, Evidence revealed that thymoquinone suppresses tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α)-induced NF-kappa B (NF-κB) activation
IκB↓, consequently inhibits the activation of I kappa B alpha (I-κBα) kinase, I-κBα phosphorylation, I-κBα degradation, p65 phosphorylation
p‑p65↓,
IAP1↓, down-regulated the expression of NF-κB -regulated antiapoptotic gene products, like IAP1, IAP2, XIAP Bcl-2, Bcl-xL;
IAP2↑,
XIAP↓,
TNF-α↓, It also inhibited monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1), TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and COX-2, ultimately reducing the NF-κB activation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells
COX2↓,
Inflam↓, indicating its role as an inhibitor of proinflammatory pathways
α-tubulin↓, Without affecting the tubulin levels in normal human fibroblast, thymoquinone induces degradation of α and β tubulin proteins in human astrocytoma U87 cells and in T lymphoblastic leukaemia Jurkat cells, and thus exerts anticancer activity
Twist↓, thymoquinone treatment inhibits TWIST1 promoter activity and decreases its expression in breast cancer cell lines; leading to the inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)
EMT↓,
mTOR↓, thymoquinone also attenuated mTOR activity, and inhibited PI3K/Akt signaling in bladder cancer
PI3K↓,
Akt↓,
BioAv↓, Thymoquinone is chemically hydrophobic, which causes its poor solubility, and thus bioavailability. bioavailability of thymoquinone was reported ~58% with a lag time of ~23 min
ChemoSen↑, Some studies revealed that thymoquinone in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs can show better anticancer activities
BioAv↑, Thymoquinone-loaded liposomes (TQ-LP) and thymoquinone loaded in liposomes modified with Triton X-100 (XLP) with diameters of about 100 nm were found to maintain stability, improve bioavailability and maintain thymoquinone’s anticancer activity
PTEN↑, Thymoquinone also induces apoptosis by up-regulating PTEN
chemoP↑, A recent study showed that thymoquinone can potentiate the chemopreventive effect of vitamin D during the initiation phase of colon cancer in rat model
RadioS↑, thymoquinone also mediates radiosensitization and cancer chemo-radiotherapy
*Half-Life↝, Thymoquinone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (TQ-NLC) has been developed to improve its bioavailability (elimination half-life ~5 hours)
*BioAv↝, calculated absolute bioavailability of thymoquinone was reported ~58% with a lag time of ~23 min by Alkharfy et al.

2097- TQ,    Crude extract of Nigella sativa inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, HeLa
Cyt‑c↑, release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, activation of caspases-3, -9 and -8 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).
Bax:Bcl2↑,
Casp3↑,
Casp9↑,
Casp8↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
cMyc↓, EENS decreased expression of oncoproteins such as c-Myc, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK-4), but increased expression of tumor-suppressor proteins including p53 and p21.
hTERT↓,
cycD1↓,
CDK4↓,
P53↑,
P21↑,
TumCP↓, EENS inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in HeLa cells
Apoptosis↓,
selectivity↑, On the other hand, they exerted marginal effect on the non-malignant human fibroblasts HF-5, which suggests that the EENS and AENS may selectively target cervical cancer cells but spare normal cell line.

2127- TQ,    Therapeutic Potential of Thymoquinone in Glioblastoma Treatment: Targeting Major Gliomagenesis Signaling Pathways
- Review, GBM, NA
chemoP↑, TQ can specifically sensitize tumor cells towards conventional cancer treatments and minimize therapy-associated toxic effects in normal cells
ChemoSen↑,
BioAv↑, TQ adds another advantage in overcoming blood-brain barrier
PTEN↑, TQ upregulates PTEN signaling [72, 73], interferes with PI3K/Akt signaling and promotes G(1) arrest, downregulates PI3K/Akt
PI3K↓,
Akt↓,
TumCCA↓,
NF-kB↓, and NF-κB and their regulated gene products, such as p-AKT, p65, XIAP, Bcl-2, COX-2, and VEGF, and attenuates mTOR activity
p‑Akt↓,
p65↓,
XIAP↓,
Bcl-2↓,
COX2↓,
VEGF↓,
mTOR↓,
RAS↓, Studies in colorectal cancer have demonstrated that TQ inhibits the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling
Raf↓,
MEK↓,
ERK↓,
MMP2↓, Multiple studies have reported that TQ downregulates FAC and reduces the secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and thereby reduces GBM cells migration, adhesion, and invasion
MMP9↓,
TumCMig↓,
TumCI↓,
Casp↑, caspase activation and PARP cleavage
cl‑PARP↑,
ROS⇅, TQ is hypothesized to act as an antoxidant at lower concentrations and a prooxidant at higher concentrations depending on its environment [89]
ROS↑, In tumor cells specifically, TQ generates ROS production that leads to reduced expression of prosurvival genes, loss of mitochondrial potential,
MMP↓,
eff↑, elevated level of ROS generation and simultaneous DNA damage when treated with a combination of TQ and artemisinin
Telomerase↓, inhibition of telomerase by TQ through the formation of G-quadruplex DNA stabilizer, subsequently leads to rapid DNA damage which can eventually induce apoptosis in cancer cells specifically
DNAdam↑,
Apoptosis↑,
STAT3↓, TQ has shown to suppress STAT3 in myeloma, gastric, and colon cancer [86, 171, 172]
RadioS↑, TQ might enhance radiation therapeutic benefit by enhancing the cytotoxic efficacy of radiation through modulation of cell cycle and apoptosis [31]

2123- TQ,    Thymoquinone suppresses growth and induces apoptosis via generation of reactive oxygen species in primary effusion lymphoma
- in-vitro, lymphoma, PEL
Akt↓, TQ treatment results in down-regulation of constitutive activation of AKT via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
ROS↑,
BAX↓, and it causes conformational changes in Bax protein, leading to loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c to the cytosol.
MMP↓,
Cyt‑c↑,
eff↑, subtoxic doses of TQ sensitized PEL cells to TRAIL via up-regulation of DR5
Casp9↑, TQ-induced signaling causes caspase-9/3 activation and PARP cleavage in PEL cells
Casp3↑,
cl‑PARP↑,
DR5↑, TQ-induced ROS generation regulates up-regulation of DR5

2108- TQ,    Anti-cancer properties and mechanisms of action of thymoquinone, the major active ingredient of Nigella sativa
- Review, Var, NA
HDAC↓, Intraperitoneal injection of TQ (10 mg/kg) for 18 days was associated with significant 39% inhibition of LNM35 xenograft tumor growth, with a significant increase in caspase-3 activity and a significant decrease in histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2)
TumCCA↑, TQ treatment caused a G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest due to decreased cyclin D1 level and increased expression of p16, a CDK inhibitor (Gali-Muhtasib et al., 2004b)
cycD1↓,
p16↑,
P53↑, increased expression of p53,
Bax:Bcl2↑, TQ significantly induced apoptosis in both cell lines by increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and decreasing Bcl-xL
Bcl-xL↓,
NF-kB↓, 25 mM TQ was accompanied by down-regulated expression of NF-kB-targeted anti-apoptotic factors (IAP1, IAP2, XIAP Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and survivin)
IAP1↓,
IAP2↓,
XIAP↓,
survivin↓,
COX2↓, and proliferative factors (cyclin D1, COX-2, and c-Myc) due to suppressed NF-kB signaling
cMyc↓,
ROS↑, TQ-induced oxidative damage,
Casp3↑, TQ-induced activation of caspase-3, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm
cl‑PARP↑,
Cyt‑c↑,
STAT3↓, TQ (5-20 uM) significantly suppressed the constitutive as well as IL-6-induced STAT3, but not STAT5, activation in U266 cells and RPMI-8226 cells


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 14

Results for Effect on Cancer/Diseased Cells:
Akt↓,5,   Akt↑,1,   p‑Akt↓,2,   angioG↑,1,   antiOx↑,1,   Apoptosis↓,2,   Apoptosis↑,7,   AR↓,1,   ARE/EpRE↑,1,   ATF4↑,1,   ATF6↑,1,   BAX↓,1,   BAX↑,4,   Bax:Bcl2↑,5,   Bcl-2↓,5,   Bcl-2↑,1,   Bcl-xL↓,6,   BioAv↓,1,   BioAv↑,2,   BioAv↝,1,   Casp↑,3,   Casp3↑,8,   cl‑Casp3↑,2,   Casp7↑,3,   cl‑Casp7↑,1,   Casp8↑,2,   cl‑Casp8↑,1,   Casp9↓,1,   Casp9↑,6,   cl‑Casp9↑,1,   cDC2↓,1,   CDK4↓,2,   chemoP↑,4,   ChemoSen↑,5,   CHOP↑,1,   cJun↑,1,   cMyc↓,6,   COX2↓,5,   cSrc↓,1,   CXCR4↓,1,   cycA1↓,1,   CycB↑,1,   cycD1↓,8,   CycD3↑,1,   cycE↓,1,   Cyt‑c↑,7,   DNAdam↓,1,   DNAdam↑,1,   DNMT1↓,1,   DR5↑,1,   E-cadherin↓,1,   E-cadherin↑,1,   eff↓,2,   eff↑,7,   EGFR↓,1,   p‑eIF2α↑,1,   EMT↓,3,   ER Stress↑,1,   ERK↓,2,   EZH2↓,1,   GRP78/BiP↑,1,   GSK‐3β↓,1,   HDAC↓,2,   HDAC1↓,1,   HDAC2↓,1,   HDAC3↓,1,   hepatoP↑,1,   HSP70/HSPA5↑,1,   hTERT↓,2,   IAP1↓,4,   IAP2↓,3,   IAP2↑,1,   Inflam↓,1,   IRE1↑,1,   IκB↓,1,   JAK2↓,1,   p‑JAK2↓,1,   JNK↑,1,   Ki-67↓,1,   Mcl-1↓,1,   MEK↓,1,   miR-34a↑,1,   MMP↓,4,   MMP2↓,1,   MMP9↓,3,   MMPs↓,1,   mTOR↓,4,   MUC4↓,1,   N-cadherin↓,1,   NF-kB↓,6,   p‑NF-kB↑,1,   NOTCH↓,1,   NRF2↓,1,   p16↑,1,   P21↑,5,   p27↑,2,   p38↑,2,   P53↑,7,   p65↓,1,   p‑p65↓,1,   PARP↓,1,   cl‑PARP↑,13,   PERK↑,1,   PI3K↓,4,   PPARγ↓,1,   PTEN↑,5,   Rac1↓,1,   radioP↑,1,   RadioS↑,3,   Raf↓,1,   RAS↓,1,   ROS↓,1,   ROS↑,10,   ROS⇅,3,   selectivity↑,4,   SIRT1↓,1,   STAT3↓,5,   p‑STAT3↓,2,   survivin↓,8,   Telomerase↓,1,   TNF-α↓,1,   TumCCA↓,1,   TumCCA↑,6,   TumCI↓,1,   TumCMig↓,1,   TumCP↓,3,   tumCV↓,3,   TumMeta↓,1,   Twist↓,3,   VEGF↓,4,   VEGFR2↓,1,   Vim↓,1,   XIAP↓,5,   Zeb1↓,1,   α-tubulin↓,1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓,1,   p‑γH2AX↑,1,  
Total Targets: 137

Results for Effect on Normal Cells:
antiOx↑,1,   BioAv↓,1,   BioAv↝,2,   Catalase↑,2,   chemoP↑,1,   COX2↓,1,   CRP↓,1,   eff↑,1,   GPx↑,2,   GSH↑,1,   GSTA1↑,1,   Half-Life↝,2,   hepatoP↑,1,   IL1β↓,2,   IL6↓,1,   Inflam↓,2,   MDA↓,1,   MMP13↓,1,   NAD↑,1,   NO↓,1,   PGE2↓,1,   ROS↓,1,   SIRT1↑,1,   SOD↑,2,   TNF-α↓,1,  
Total Targets: 25

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: PARP, poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage
14 Thymoquinone
1 doxorubicin
Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:162  Target#:239  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=on  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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