Chrysin / Cyt‑c 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)
Cyt‑c, cyt-c Release into Cytosol: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Cytochrome c
** The term "release of cytochrome c" ** an increase in level for the cytosol.
Small hemeprotein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitochondrion where it plays a critical role in cellular respiration. Cytochrome c is highly water-soluble, unlike other cytochromes. It is capable of undergoing oxidation and reduction as its iron atom converts between the ferrous and ferric forms, but does not bind oxygen. It also plays a major role in cell apoptosis.

The term "release of cytochrome c" refers to a critical step in the process of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis.
In its new location—the cytosol—cytochrome c participates in the apoptotic signaling pathway by helping to form the apoptosome, which activates caspases that execute cell death.
Cytochrome c is a small protein normally located in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Its primary role in healthy cells is to participate in the electron transport chain, a process that helps produce energy (ATP) through oxidative phosphorylation.
Mitochondrial outer membrane permeability leads to the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol.
The release of cytochrome c is a pivotal event in apoptosis where cytochrome c moves from the mitochondria to the cytosol, initiating a chain reaction that leads to programmed cell death.

On the one hand, cytochrome c can promote cancer cell survival and proliferation by regulating the activity of various signaling pathways, such as the PI3K/AKT pathway. This can lead to increased cell growth and resistance to apoptosis, which are hallmarks of cancer.
On the other hand, cytochrome c can also induce apoptosis in cancer cells by interacting with other proteins, such as Apaf-1 and caspase-9. This can lead to the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, which can result in the death of cancer cells.
Overexpressed in Breast, Lung, Colon, and Prostrate.
Underexpressed in Ovarian, and Pancreatic.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
6126- CHr,    Chrysin induces cell apoptosis in human uveal melanoma cells via intrinsic apoptosis
- in-vitro, Melanoma, NA
tumCV↓, selectivity↑, MPT↑, Cyt‑c↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, Apoptosis↑, mtDam↑, chemoPv↑,
2807- CHr,    Evidence-based mechanistic role of chrysin towards protection of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in rats
- in-vivo, Nor, NA
*antiOx↑, Inflam↓, *cardioP↑, *GSH↑, *SOD↑, *Catalase↑, *GAPDH↑, *BAX↓, *Bcl-2↑, *PARP↓, *Cyt‑c↓, *Casp3↓, *NOX4↓, *NRF2↑, *HO-1↑, *HSP70/HSPA5↑,
2785- CHr,    Emerging cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying anticancer indications of chrysin
- Review, Var, NA
*NF-kB↓, *COX2↓, *iNOS↓, angioG↓, TOP1↓, HDAC↓, TNF-α↓, IL1β↓, cardioP↑, RenoP↑, neuroP↑, LDL↓, BioAv↑, eff↑, cycD1/CCND1↓, hTERT/TERT↓, MMP-10↓, Akt↓, STAT3↓, VEGF↓, EGFR↓, Snail↓, Slug↓, Vim↓, E-cadherin↑, eff↑, TET1↑, ROS↑, mTOR↓, PPARα↓, ER Stress↑, Ca+2↑, ERK↓, MMP↑, Cyt‑c↑, Casp3↑, HK2↓, NRF2↓, HO-1↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, Fibronectin↓, GRP78/BiP↑, XBP-1↓, p‑eIF2α↑, *AST↓, ALAT↓, ALP↓, LDH↓, COX2↑, Bcl-xL↓, IL6↓, PGE2↓, iNOS↓, DNAdam↑, UPR↑, Hif1a↓, EMT↓, Twist↓, lipid-P↑, CLDN1↓, PDK1↓, IL10↓, TLR4↓, NOTCH1↑, PARP↑, Mcl-1↓, XIAP↓,
2780- CHr,    Anti-cancer Activity of Chrysin in Cancer Therapy: a Systematic Review
- Review, Var, NA
*antiOx↑, Inflam↓, *hepatoP↑, AntiCan↑, Cyt‑c↑, Casp3↑, XIAP↓, p‑Akt↓, PI3K↑, Apoptosis↑, COX2↓, FAK↓, AMPK↑, STAT3↑, MMP↓, DNAdam↑, BAX↑, Bak↑, Casp9↑, p38↑, MAPK↑, TumCCA↑, ChemoSen↑, HDAC8↓, Wnt↓, NF-kB↓, angioG↓, BioAv↓,
2782- CHr,    Broad-Spectrum Preclinical Antitumor Activity of Chrysin: Current Trends and Future Perspectives
- Review, Var, NA - Review, Stroke, NA - Review, Park, NA
*antiOx↑, *Inflam↓, *hepatoP↑, *neuroP↑, *BioAv↓, *cardioP↑, *lipidLev↓, *RenoP↑, *TNF-α↓, *IL2↓, *PI3K↓, *Akt↓, *ROS↓, *cognitive↑, eff↑, cycD1/CCND1↓, hTERT/TERT↓, VEGF↓, p‑STAT3↓, TumMeta↓, TumCP↓, eff↑, eff↑, IL1β↓, IL6↓, NF-kB↓, ROS↑, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↑, Apoptosis↑, ER Stress↑, Ca+2↑, TET1↑, Let-7↑, Twist↓, EMT↓, TumCCA↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, BAX↑, HK2↓, GlucoseCon↓, lactateProd↓, Glycolysis↓, SHP1↑, N-cadherin↓, E-cadherin↑, UPR↑, PERK↑, ATF4↑, eIF2α↑, RadioS↑, NOTCH1↑, NRF2↓, BioAv↑, eff↑,
2783- CHr,    Apoptotic Effects of Chrysin in Human Cancer Cell Lines
- Review, Var, NA
TumCP↓, Apoptosis↑, Casp↑, PCNA↓, p38↑, NF-kB↑, DNAdam↑, XIAP↓, Cyt‑c↑, Casp3↑, Akt↓, SCF↓, hTERT/TERT↓, COX2↓, *Inflam↓, *antiOx↑, *chemoPv↑, AR-V7?, CYP19?,
2795- CHr,    Combination of chrysin and cisplatin promotes the apoptosis of Hep G2 cells by up-regulating p53
- in-vitro, Liver, HepG2
ChemoSen↑, P53↑, ERK↑, BAX↑, DR5↑, Bcl-2↓, Casp8↑, Cyt‑c↑, Casp9↑,
481- CUR,  CHr,  Api,    Flavonoid-induced glutathione depletion: Potential implications for cancer treatment
- in-vitro, Liver, A549 - in-vitro, Pca, PC3 - in-vitro, AML, HL-60
GSH↓, mtDam↑, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 8 of 8

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 8

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

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

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

MMP↓, 3,   MMP↑, 1,   MPT↑, 1,   mtDam↑, 2,   XIAP↓, 3,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   AMPK↑, 1,   GlucoseCon↓, 1,   Glycolysis↓, 1,   HK2↓, 2,   lactateProd↓, 1,   LDH↓, 1,   LDL↓, 1,   PDK1↓, 1,   PPARα↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   p‑Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 4,   Bak↑, 1,   BAX↑, 3,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 5,   Casp8↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 4,   Cyt‑c↑, 7,   DR5↑, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 3,   iNOS↓, 1,   MAPK↑, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   p38↑, 2,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

tumCV↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

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

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 3,   P53↑, 1,   PARP↑, 1,   PCNA↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   TumCCA↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

AR-V7?, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   ERK↓, 1,   ERK↑, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   HDAC8↓, 1,   Let-7↑, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   NOTCH1↑, 2,   PI3K↑, 1,   SCF↓, 1,   SHP1↑, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   STAT3↑, 1,   p‑STAT3↓, 1,   TOP1↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

Ca+2↑, 2,   CLDN1↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 2,   FAK↓, 1,   Fibronectin↓, 1,   MMP-10↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   Slug↓, 1,   Snail↓, 1,   TET1↑, 2,   TumCP↓, 2,   TumMeta↓, 1,   Twist↓, 2,   Vim↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 2,   ATF4↑, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 2,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 2,   COX2↑, 1,   IL10↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 2,   IL6↓, 2,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 2,   NF-kB↑, 1,   PGE2↓, 1,   TLR4↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

CYP19?, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↑, 2,   ChemoSen↑, 2,   eff↑, 6,   RadioS↑, 1,   selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

ALAT↓, 1,   ALP↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 3,   IL6↓, 2,   LDH↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   cardioP↑, 1,   chemoPv↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,   RenoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 119

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 4,   Catalase↑, 1,   GSH↑, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   NOX4↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 1,   SOD↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

GAPDH↑, 1,   lipidLev↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 1,   BAX↓, 1,   Bcl-2↑, 1,   Casp3↓, 1,   Cyt‑c↓, 1,   iNOS↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

HSP70/HSPA5↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

PARP↓, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

PI3K↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   IL2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AST↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cardioP↑, 2,   chemoPv↑, 1,   cognitive↑, 1,   hepatoP↑, 2,   neuroP↑, 1,   RenoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 32

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Cyt‑c, cyt-c Release into Cytosol
8 Chrysin
1 Curcumin
1 Apigenin (mainly Parsley)
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#:77  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

Home Page