Chrysin / GRP78/BiP Cancer Research Results

CHr, Chrysin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Chrysin is found in passion flower and honey. It is a flavonoid.
-To reach plasma levels that might more closely match the concentrations used in in vitro studies (typically micromolar), considerably high doses or advanced delivery mechanisms would be necessary.
Chrysin is widely summarized as modulating PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways in cancer.

Chrysin — Chrysin is a naturally occurring flavone-class flavonoid found in honey, propolis, passionflower, and several plants. Its oncology relevance is mainly preclinical: it shows multi-pathway anticancer activity in cell and animal models, but native oral chrysin has very poor systemic bioavailability and no established approved oncology use.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

  1. Suppression of PI3K/AKT survival signaling with downstream reduction in proliferation and survival programs.
  2. Induction of mitochondrial apoptosis through Bax/Bcl-2 shift, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, cytochrome c release, and caspase activation.
  3. Context-dependent ROS stress amplification in cancer cells, often linked to mitochondrial injury, ER stress, and apoptosis.
  4. ER stress / unfolded-protein-response activation leading to autophagy or stress-to-death coupling.
  5. Suppression of inflammatory, invasive, angiogenic, and metastatic signaling including NF-κB, MMPs, EMT, VEGF, and HIF-1α axes.
  6. Secondary antioxidant / NRF2-linked cytoprotection in some normal-cell or injury models, which is context-dependent and not necessarily anticancer-selective.

Bioavailability / PK relevance: Native oral chrysin has very poor systemic exposure because of low aqueous solubility, extensive intestinal/hepatic glucuronidation and sulfation, and efflux; human oral bioavailability has been reported as extremely low, often summarized as below 1%. Formulation strategies such as nanoparticles, lipid systems, micelles, cyclodextrins, or structural analogues are commonly proposed for systemic translation.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Most anticancer studies use micromolar in-vitro concentrations that are unlikely to be reached in plasma after ordinary oral chrysin. Local intestinal exposure may be more plausible than systemic tumor exposure, but systemic anticancer claims should be treated as formulation-dependent.
LipoMicel may increase bioavailability

Clinical evidence status: Preclinical. Evidence is strong enough for mechanistic oncology interest in cell and animal models, including combination/sensitization studies, but there is no mature clinical oncology evidence establishing therapeutic benefit.

-Note half-life 2 hrs, BioAv very poor often <1%
Pathways:
Graphical Pathways

- may induce ROS production
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- May Lower AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓, GSH↓ HO1↓
- May Raise AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓,
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, uPA↓, VEGF↓, ROCK1↓, FAK↓, RhoA↓, NF-κB↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, P53↑, HSP↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, HK2↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Chrysin Mechanistic Profile

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 PI3K AKT survival signaling PI3K↓; AKT phosphorylation↓; survival signaling↓ ↔ R, G Growth and survival suppression Central hub mechanism reported across multiple tumor models; also supports chemosensitization.
2 Mitochondrial apoptosis MMP↓; Bax↑; Bcl-2↓; cytochrome c↑; caspase-9/3↑ ↔ or lower sensitivity R, G Intrinsic apoptosis execution One of the most consistent anticancer endpoints, usually downstream of stress and survival-pathway suppression.
3 Mitochondrial ROS stress ROS↑ (context-dependent); oxidative stress↑; lipid peroxidation↑ ROS↓ or antioxidant protection (context-dependent) P, R, G Stress amplification Direction is dose- and model-dependent; cancer models often show pro-oxidant stress, while normal injury models may show antioxidant behavior.
4 ER stress and UPR ER stress↑; GRP78↑; UPR↑; autophagy or apoptosis↑ ↔ R, G Stress-to-death coupling Important in several chrysin cancer models and in some drug-combination effects.
5 NF-κB inflammatory transcription NF-κB↓; COX-2↓; IL-6↓; TNF-α↓ Inflammatory injury signaling↓ R, G Anti-inflammatory and anti-survival signaling May contribute to reduced proliferation, invasion, and cytokine-driven tumor support.
6 Invasion EMT and MMPs EMT↓; MMP-2↓; MMP-9↓; uPA↓; migration↓; invasion↓ ↔ G Anti-invasive phenotype Mechanistically relevant for metastasis models but generally later and context-dependent.
7 Angiogenesis and HIF-1α VEGF signaling HIF-1α↓; VEGF↓; angiogenic output↓ ↔ G Anti-angiogenic support Reported in preclinical models; may overlap with oxidative stress and DNA damage response pathways.
8 Glycolysis and metabolic stress GLUT1↓; HK2↓; LDH↓; PDK1↓; lactate production↓; ATP↓ ↔ G Metabolic suppression Relevant but less central than apoptosis and survival signaling; strongest interpretation is model-dependent.
9 NRF2 antioxidant axis NRF2↓ or antioxidant defense↓ (model-dependent) NRF2↑; SOD↑; GSH↑; catalase↑ (context-dependent) R, G Context-dependent redox selectivity Potentially useful but also interpret carefully because NRF2 activation can be protective in normal cells and sometimes undesirable in cancer cells.
10 Chemosensitization and radiosensitization Drug-induced toxicity↑; apoptosis↑; resistance signaling↓ Chemoprotection reported in some injury models G Adjunct sensitization Promising preclinical adjunct signal, but not clinically established.
11 Clinical Translation Constraint Systemic exposure low after native oral dosing Dose and formulation constraints G Translation limitation Very poor oral bioavailability is the dominant practical constraint; formulation or local GI targeting is likely required.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (primary/physical–chemical effects; rapid signaling / phosphorylation shifts)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (acute stress-response and redox signaling)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotype-level outcomes)
GRP78/BiP, HSPA5: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
GRP78 (Pgp, BiP or ERp72) is a central regulator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function due to its roles in protein folding and assembly, targeting misfolded protein for degradation, ER Ca(2+)-binding and controlling the activation of trans-membrane ER stress sensors.
-GRP78 protein, a marker for endoplasmic reticulum stress
-GRP78’s role as a master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and cellular stress responses
The association of P-gp and inhibition of cell death in cancerous cells has also been reported in several studies including in hepatocellular, colorectal, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. Although counterintuitive due to its prominent role in cancer resistance, P-gp has been linked to favorable prognosis.
ERp72 can promote cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating various signaling pathways, including the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. Additionally, ERp72 can also inhibit apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, which can contribute to tumor progression. Overexpressed in: Breast, lung colorectal, prostrate, ovarian, pancreatic.

-GRP78 is frequently upregulated in a variety of solid tumors and hematological malignancies.
-Overexpression of GRP78 in cancer cells is often regarded as a marker of increased ER stress due to the reduced oxygen and nutrient supply typically encountered in the tumor microenvironment.
-Elevated GRP78 levels can contribute to tumor cell survival by enhancing the adaptive UPR, allowing cancer cells to cope with therapeutic and metabolic stress.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
6124- CHr,  EGCG,    The anticancer flavonoid chrysin induces the unfolded protein response in hepatoma cells
- in-vitro, HCC, HepG2
TumCG↓, report that chrysin inhibits hepatoma cells growth and induces apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.
Apoptosis↓,
GRP78/BiP↑, Chrysin induces GRP78 overexpression, X-box binding protein-1 splicing and eukaryotic initiation factor 2α phosphorylation, hallmarks of the unfolded protein response.
eff↑, GRP78 knockdown potentiates chrysin-induced caspase-7 cleavage in hepatoma cells and enhances chrysin-induced apoptosis.
cl‑Casp7↑,
cl‑PARP↑, Combination of EGCG potentiates chrysin-induced caspase-7 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage.
eff↑, Finally, EGCG sensitizes hepatoma cells to chrysin through caspase-mediated apoptosis
UPR↑, data suggest that chrysin triggers the unfolded protein response. Chrysin induces the unfolded protein response
ER Stress↑, Chrysin can induce ER stress response in hepatoma cells, including up-regulation of GRP78 expression, induction of eIF-2α phosphorylation and XBP-1 splicing.
p‑eIF2α↑,
XBP-1↝,
Proteasome↓, Chrysin is a known proteasome inhibitor [27]

2785- CHr,    Emerging cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying anticancer indications of chrysin
- Review, Var, NA
*NF-kB↓, suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and histamine release, downregulated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)
*COX2↓,
*iNOS↓,
angioG↓, upregulated apoptotic pathways [28], inhibited angiogenesis [29] and metastasis formation
TOP1↓, suppressed DNA topoisomerases [31] and histone deacetylase [32], downregulated tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β)
HDAC↓,
TNF-α↓,
IL1β↓,
cardioP↑, promoted protective signaling pathways in the heart [34], kidney [35] and brain [8], decreased cholesterol level
RenoP↑,
neuroP↑,
LDL↓,
BioAv↑, bioavailability of chrysin in the oral route of administration was appraised to be 0.003–0.02% [55], the maximum plasma concentration—12–64 nM
eff↑, Chrysin alone and potentially in combination with metformin decreased cyclin D1 and hTERT gene expression in the T47D breast cancer cell line
cycD1/CCND1↓,
hTERT/TERT↓,
MMP-10↓, Chrysin pretreatment inhibited MMP-10 and Akt signaling pathways
Akt↓,
STAT3↓, Chrysin declined hypoxic survival, inhibited activation of STAT3, and reduced VEGF expression in hypoxic cancer cells
VEGF↓,
EGFR↓, chrysin to inhibit EGFR was reported in a breast cancer stem cell model [
Snail↓, chrysin downregulated MMP-10, reduced snail, slug, and vimentin expressions increased E-cadherin expression, and inhibited Akt signaling pathway in TNBC cells, proposing that chrysin possessed a reversal activity on EMT
Slug↓,
Vim↓,
E-cadherin↑,
eff↑, Fabrication of chrysin-attached to silver and gold nanoparticles crossbred reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites led to augmentation of the generation of ROS-induced apoptosis in breast cancer
TET1↑, Chrysin induced augmentation in TET1
ROS↑, Pretreatment with chrysin induced ROS formation, and consecutively, inhibited Akt phosphorylation and mTOR.
mTOR↓,
PPARα↓, Chrysin inhibited mRNA expression of PPARα
ER Stress↑, ROS production by chrysin was the critical mediator behind induction of ER stress, leading to JNK phosphorylation, intracellular Ca2+ release, and activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway
Ca+2↑,
ERK↓, reduced protein expression of p-ERK/ERK
MMP↑, Chrysin pretreatment led to an increase in mitochondrial ROS creation, swelling in isolated mitochondria from hepatocytes, collapse in MMP, and release cytochrome c.
Cyt‑c↑,
Casp3↑, Chrysin could elevate caspase-3 activity in the HCC rats group
HK2↓, chrysin declined HK-2 combined with VDAC-1 on mitochondria
NRF2↓, chrysin inhibited the Nrf2 expression and its downstream genes comprising AKR1B10, HO-1, and MRP5 by quenching ERK and PI3K-Akt pathway
HO-1↓,
MMP2↓, Chrysin pretreatment also downregulated MMP2, MMP9, fibronectin, and snail expression
MMP9↓,
Fibronectin↓,
GRP78/BiP↑, chrysin induced GRP78 overexpression, spliced XBP-1, and eIF2-α phosphorylation
XBP-1↓,
p‑eIF2α↑,
*AST↓, Chrysin administration significantly reduced AST, ALT, ALP, LDH and γGT serum activities
ALAT↓,
ALP↓,
LDH↓,
COX2↑, chrysin attenuated COX-2 and NFkB p65 expression, and Bcl-xL and β-arrestin levels
Bcl-xL↓,
IL6↓, Reduction in IL-6 and TNF-α and augmentation in caspases-9 and 3 were observed due to chrysin supplementation.
PGE2↓, Chrysin induced entire suppression NF-kB, COX-2, PG-E2, iNOS as well.
iNOS↓,
DNAdam↑, Chrysin induced apoptosis of cells by causing DNA fragmentation and increasing the proportions of DU145 and PC-3 cells
UPR↑, Also, it induced ER stress via activation of UPR proteins comprising PERK, eIF2α, and GRP78 in DU145 and PC-3 cells.
Hif1a↓, Chrysin increased the ubiquitination and degradation of HIF-1α by increasing its prolyl hydroxylation
EMT↓, chrysin was effective in HeLa cell by inhibiting EMT and CSLC properties, NF-κBp65, and Twist1 expression
Twist↓,
lipid-P↑, Chrysin disrupted intracellular homeostasis by altering MMP, cytosolic Ca (2+) levels, ROS generation, and lipid peroxidation, which plays a role in the death of choriocarcinoma cells.
CLDN1↓, Chrysin decreased CLDN1 and CLDN11 expression in human lung SCC
PDK1↓, Chrysin alleviated p-Akt and inhibited PDK1 and Akt
IL10↓, Chrysin inhibited cytokines release, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, and IL-6 induced by Ni in A549 cells.
TLR4↓, Chrysin suppressed TLR4 and Myd88 mRNA and protein expression.
NOTCH1↑, Chrysin inhibited tumor growth in ATC both in vitro and in vivo through inducing Notch1
PARP↑, Pretreating cells with chrysin increased cleaved PARP, cleaved caspase-3, and declined cyclin D1, Mcl-1, and XIAP.
Mcl-1↓,
XIAP↓,

2790- CHr,    Chrysin: Pharmacological and therapeutic properties
- Review, Var, NA
*hepatoP↑, graphical abstract
*neuroP↓,
*ROS↓,
*cardioP↑,
*Inflam↓,
eff↑, suppression of hTERT and cyclin D1 gene expression in T47D breast cancer cell lines is due to the combined effect of metformin and chrysin
hTERT/TERT↓,
cycD1/CCND1↓,
MMP9↓, nanoparticle-based chrysin in C57B16 mice bearing B16F10 melanoma tumors was markedly presented reductions in the levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, and TERT genes, whereas it enhanced TIMP-2 andTIMP-1 genes expression
MMP2↓,
TIMP1↑,
TIMP2↑,
BioAv↑, nano-encapsulation of chrysin and curcumin improved the delivery of these phytochemicals that significantly inhibited the growth of cancer cells, while it decreased the hTERT gene expression via increased solubility and bioavailability
HK2↓, chrysin treatment restrained tumor growth in HCC xenograft models and significantly reduced HK-2 expression in tumor tissue
ROS↑, showing a significant increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytotoxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse, caspase-3 activation, ADP/ATP ratio, and ultimately apoptosis
MMP↓,
Casp3↑,
ADP:ATP↑,
Apoptosis↑,
ER Stress↑, Likewise, chrysin encouraged endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress via stimulation of unfolded protein response (UPR
UPR↑,
GRP78/BiP↝, (eIF2α), PRKR-like ER kinase (PERK) and 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78).
eff↑, silibinin and chrysin synergistically inhibited growth of T47D BCC and downregulated the hTERT and cyclin D1 level
Ca+2↑, Primarily, increased ROS and cytoplasmic Ca 2+ levels alongside induction of cell death and loss of MMP are involved in inhibition of ovarian cancer through chrysin.

2792- CHr,    Chrysin induces death of prostate cancer cells by inducing ROS and ER stress
- in-vitro, Pca, DU145 - in-vitro, Pca, PC3
DNAdam↑, chrysin induced apoptosis of cells evidenced by DNA fragmentation and increasing the population of both DU145 and PC-3 cells in the sub-G1 phase of the cell cycle
TumCCA↑,
MMP↓, chrysin induced loss of mitochondria membrane potential (MMP), while increasing production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation in a dose-dependent manner
ROS↑,
lipid-P↑,
ER Stress↑, Also, it induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress through activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) proteins including PRKR-like ER kinase (PERK), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), and 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78)
UPR↑,
PERK↑,
eIF2α↑,
GRP78/BiP↑,
PI3K↓, chrysin-mediated intracellular signaling pathways suppressed phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the abundance of AKT, P70S6K, S6, and P90RSK proteins, but stimulated mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and activation of ERK1/2 and P38 proteins
Akt↓,
p70S6↓,
MAPK↑,


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 ⓘ

HO-1↓, 1,   lipid-P↑, 2,   NRF2↓, 1,   ROS↑, 3,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

ADP:ATP↑, 1,   MMP↓, 2,   MMP↑, 1,   XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   HK2↓, 2,   LDH↓, 1,   LDL↓, 1,   PDK1↓, 1,   PPARα↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   Apoptosis↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp3↑, 2,   cl‑Casp7↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 2,   iNOS↓, 1,   MAPK↑, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   Proteasome↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

p70S6↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

eIF2α↑, 1,   p‑eIF2α↑, 2,   ER Stress↑, 4,   GRP78/BiP↑, 3,   GRP78/BiP↝, 1,   PERK↑, 1,   UPR↑, 4,   XBP-1↓, 1,   XBP-1↝, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 2,   PARP↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

EMT↓, 1,   ERK↓, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   NOTCH1↑, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   TOP1↓, 1,   TumCG↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

Ca+2↑, 2,   CLDN1↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 1,   Fibronectin↓, 1,   MMP-10↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 2,   MMP9↓, 2,   Slug↓, 1,   Snail↓, 1,   TET1↑, 1,   TIMP1↑, 1,   TIMP2↑, 1,   Twist↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↑, 1,   IL10↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   PGE2↓, 1,   TLR4↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↑, 2,   eff↑, 6,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   ALP↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 2,   IL6↓, 1,   LDH↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cardioP↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,   RenoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 86

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

iNOS↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AST↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cardioP↑, 1,   hepatoP↑, 1,   neuroP↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 9

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: GRP78/BiP, HSPA5
4 Chrysin
1 EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)
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#:61  Target#:356  State#:%  Dir#:%
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