Database Query Results : Alpha-Lipoic-Acid, , TumCCA

ALA, Alpha-Lipoic-Acid: Click to Expand ⟱
Features: antioxidant, energy production in cell mitochondria
Alpha-Lipoic-Acid: also known as lipoic acid or thioctic acid (reduced form is dihydrolipoic acid).
"Universal antioxidant" because it is both water- and fat-soluble and can neutralize free radicals.
-Treatment sometimes as ALA/N (alpha-lipoic acid/low-dose naltresone)
-Also done in IV
-Decreases ROS production, but also has pro-oxidant role.
Normal adult can take 300 milligrams twice a day with food, but they should always take a B-complex vitamin with it. Because B complex vitamins, especially thiamine, and biotin, and riboflavin, are depleted during this metabolic process.
α-Lipoic acid acts as a chelating agent for metal ions, a quenching agent for reactive oxygen species, and a reducing agent for the oxidized form of glutathione and vitamins C and E.
-It seems a paradox that LA functions as both antioxidant and prooxidant. LA functions the pro-oxidant only in special cancer cells, such as A549 and PC9 cells which should show high-level NRF2 expression and high glycolytic level. Through inhibiting PDK1 to further prohibit NRF2; LA functions as anticancer prooxidant.

α-lipoic acid possesses excellent silver chelating properties.

ALA → ROS ↑ (cancer cells; high dose / stressed mitochondria)
ALA → ROS ↓ (normal cells; low–moderate dose)
same pattern seen with: Vitamin C, Menadione, Quercetin, EGCG, Resveratrol
- ALA acts as pro-Oxidant only in cancer cells:#278 - Pro-Oxidant Dose margin >100uM:#304

- Bioavailability: 80-90%, but conversion to EPA/DHA is 5-10% (and takes longer time).
- AI (Adequate Intake): 1.1-1.6g/day.
- human studies have shown that ALA levels decline significantly with age
- 1g of ALA might achieve 500uM in the blood.
- ALA is poorly soluble, lecithin has been used as an amphiphilic matrix to enhance its bioavailability.
- Pilot studies or observational interventions have used flaxseed supplementation (rich in ALA) in doses providing roughly 3–4 g of ALA daily.
- Flaxseed oil is even more concentrated in ALA – typical 50–60% ALA by weight.
- single walnut may contain 300mg of ALA
- chia oil contains 55-65% ALA.
- α-LA can also be obtained from the diet through the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and meats
- ALA is more stable in chia seeds, (2grams of ALA per tablespoon)
- ALA degrades when exposed to heat, light, and air. (prone to oxidation)

-Note half-life 1-2 hrs.
BioAv 30-40% from walnuts, 60-80% from supplements. Co-ingestion with fat improves absorption. Both fat and water soluble
Pathways:
- induce ROS production
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑,
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓, SOD↓, GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, IGF-1↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA, cyclin D1↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, Glucose↓, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- small indication of inhibiting Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, JNK,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Cancer-Relevant Pathways
Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells Label Interpretation Notes
1 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose- & stress-dependent) ↓ ROS Conditional Driver Biphasic redox behavior ALA/DHLA redox cycling can push already stressed cancer mitochondria past tolerance while buffering ROS in normal cells
2 Glutathione (GSH) system ↓ functional buffering ↑ GSH regeneration Secondary Redox amplification vs protection In cancer cells, GSH consumption accompanies ROS escalation; in normal cells DHLA supports GSH recycling
3 Mitochondrial function (ΔΨm) ↓ ΔΨm (stress-induced) ↔ stabilized Secondary Mitochondrial selectivity Cancer cells with unstable ETC show depolarization; normal cells tolerate or benefit metabolically
4 NF-κB signaling ↓ survival signaling ↓ inflammatory tone Secondary Redox-sensitive transcription NF-κB suppression reduces cancer cell survival programs but is anti-inflammatory in normal tissue
5 Cell proliferation ↓ proliferation ↔ spared Phenotypic Cytostatic selectivity ALA slows cancer cell cycling without universal apoptosis
6 Apoptosis ↑ apoptosis (conditional) ↓ apoptosis Phenotypic Threshold-dependent death Occurs in cancer cells when redox stress exceeds buffering capacity
7 NRF2 antioxidant response ↑ NRF2 (adaptive, often insufficient) ↑ NRF2 (protective) Adaptive Stress compensation NRF2 reflects attempted redox recovery; not a kill mechanism


TumCCA, Tumor cell cycle arrest: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Tumor cell cycle arrest refers to the process by which cancer cells stop progressing through the cell cycle, which is the series of phases that a cell goes through to divide and replicate. This arrest can occur at various checkpoints in the cell cycle, including the G1, S, G2, and M phases. S, G1, G2, and M are the four phases of mitosis.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3443- ALA,    Molecular and Therapeutic Insights of Alpha-Lipoic Acid as a Potential Molecule for Disease Prevention
- Review, Var, NA - Review, AD, NA
*antiOx↑, antioxidant potential and free radical scavenging activity.
*ROS↓,
*IronCh↑, Lipoic acid acts as a chelating agent for metal ions, a quenching agent for reactive oxygen species, and a reducing agent for the oxidized form of glutathione and vitamins C and E.
*cognitive↑, α-Lipoic acid enantiomers and its reduced form have antioxidant, cognitive, cardiovascular, detoxifying, anti-aging, dietary supplement, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
*cardioP↓,
AntiCan↑,
*neuroP↑,
*Inflam↓, α-Lipoic acid can reduce inflammatory markers in patients with heart disease
*BioAv↓, bioavailability in its pure form is low (approximately 30%).
*AntiAge↑, As a dietary supplements α-lipoic acid has become a common ingredient in regular products like anti-aging supplements and multivitamin formulations
*Half-Life↓, it has a half-life (t1/2) of 30 min to 1 h.
*BioAv↝, It should be stored in a cool, dark, and dry environment, at 0 °C for short-term storage (few days to weeks) and at − 20 °C for long-term storage (few months to years).
other↝, Remarkably, neither α-lipoic acid nor dihydrolipoic acid can scavenge hydrogen peroxide, possibly the most abundant second messenger ROS, in the absence of enzymatic catalysis.
EGFR↓, α-Lipoic acid inhibits cell proliferation via the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the protein kinase B (PKB), also known as the Akt signaling, and induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells
Akt↓,
ROS↓, α-Lipoic acid tramps the ROS followed by arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and activates p27 (kip1)-dependent cell cycle arrest via changing of the ratio of the apoptotic-related protein Bax/Bcl-2
TumCCA↑,
p27↑,
PDH↑, α-Lipoic acid drives pyruvate dehydrogenase by downregulating aerobic glycolysis and activation of apoptosis in breast cancer cells, lactate production
Glycolysis↓,
ROS↑, HT-29 human colon cancer cells; It was concluded that α-lipoic acid induces apoptosis by a pro-oxidant mechanism triggered by an escalated uptake of mitochondrial substrates in oxidizable form
*eff↑, Several studies have found that combining α-lipoic acid and omega-3 fatty acids has a synergistic effect in slowing functional and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease
*memory↑, α-lipoic acid inhibits brain weight loss, downregulates oxidative tissue damage resulting in neuronal cell loss, repairs memory and motor function,
*motorD↑,
*GutMicro↑, modulates the gut microbiota without reducing the microbial diversity (

3442- ALA,    α‑lipoic acid modulates prostate cancer cell growth and bone cell differentiation
- in-vitro, Pca, 22Rv1 - in-vitro, Pca, C4-2B - in-vitro, Nor, 3T3
tumCV↓, Notably, α‑LA treatment significantly reduced the cell viability, migration, and invasion of PCa cell lines in a dose‑dependent manner.
TumCMig↓,
TumCI↓,
ROS↑, α‑LA supplementation dramatically increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and HIF‑1α expression, which started the downstream molecular cascade and activated JNK/caspase‑3 signaling pathway
Hif1a↑, The expression of HIF-1α significantly increased following α-LA treatment and was comparable with the changes in ROS.
JNK↑,
Casp↑,
TumCCA↑, arrest of the cell cycle in the S‑phase, which has led to apoptosis of PCa cells
Apoptosis↑,
selectivity↑, Also, the treatment of α‑LA improved bone health by reducing PCa‑mediated bone cell modulation.

298- ALA,  Rad,    Synergistic Tumoricidal Effects of Alpha-Lipoic Acid and Radiotherapy on Human Breast Cancer Cells via HMGB1
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231
Apoptosis↑,
P53↑,
p38↑,
NF-kB↑, NF-κB were significantly increased in the ALA+RT group compared to the control
TumCCA↑, G2/M cell cycle arrest.


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 3

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↓, 1,   ROS↑, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

Glycolysis↓, 1,   PDH↑, 1,  

Cell Death

Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 2,   Casp↑, 1,   JNK↑, 1,   p27↑, 1,   p38↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

other↝, 1,   tumCV↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

P53↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

TumCCA↑, 3,  

Migration

TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

EGFR↓, 1,   Hif1a↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

NF-kB↑, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

EGFR↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

AntiCan↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 22

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

antiOx↑, 1,   ROS↓, 1,  

Metal & Cofactor Biology

IronCh↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

Inflam↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↝, 1,   eff↑, 1,   Half-Life↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

GutMicro↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

AntiAge↑, 1,   cardioP↓, 1,   cognitive↑, 1,   memory↑, 1,   motorD↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 15

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: TumCCA, Tumor cell cycle arrest
3 Alpha-Lipoic-Acid
1 Radiotherapy/Radiation
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#:29  Target#:322  State#:%  Dir#:%
wNotes=on sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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