Curcumin / HH Cancer Research Results

CUR, Curcumin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Tumeric. Member of the ginger family.Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Has iron-chelating, iron-chelating properties. Ferritin. But still known to increase Iron in Cancer cells.
- GSH depletion in cancer cells, exhaustion of the antioxidant defense system. But still raises GSH↑ in normal cells.
- Higher concentrations (5-10 μM) of curcumin induce autophagy and ROS production
- Inhibition of TrxR, shifting the enzyme from an antioxidant to a prooxidant
- Strong inhibitor of Glo-I, , causes depletion of cellular ATP and GSH
- Curcumin has been found to act as an activator of Nrf2, (maybe bad in cancer cells?), hence could be combined with Nrf2 knockdown
-may suppress CSC: suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Clinical studies testing curcumin in cancer patients have used a range of dosages, often between 500 mg and 8 g per day; however, many studies note that doses on the lower end may not achieve sufficient plasma concentrations for a therapeutic anticancer effect in humans.
• Formulations designed to improve curcumin absorption (like curcumin combined with piperine, nanoparticle formulations, or liposomal curcumin) are often employed in clinical trials to enhance its bioavailability.

-Note half-life 6 hrs.
BioAv is poor, use piperine or other enhancers
Pathways:
- induce ROS production at high concentration. Lowers ROS at lower concentrations
curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant when blue light is applied
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
but conversely is known as a NRF2↑ activator in cancer
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, n-myc↓, sox2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR**,
- 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 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Driver Suppression of survival and inflammatory transcription NF-κB is a primary, repeatedly validated curcumin target explaining pleiotropic downstream effects
2 STAT3 signaling ↓ STAT3 phosphorylation / activity ↔ or mild suppression Driver Loss of pro-survival and proliferative signaling STAT3 inhibition contributes to growth arrest, apoptosis sensitization, and reduced cytokine signaling in tumors
3 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose- & context-dependent) ↓ ROS / buffered Conditional Driver Biphasic redox modulation Curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant in cancer cells with high basal stress while acting antioxidant in normal cells
4 Mitochondrial integrity / intrinsic apoptosis ↓ ΔΨm; ↑ caspase activation ↔ preserved Driver Execution of intrinsic apoptosis Mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation occur downstream of NF-κB/STAT3 and ROS effects
5 PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis ↓ AKT / ↓ mTOR ↔ or adaptive suppression Secondary Reduced growth and anabolic signaling AKT/mTOR inhibition contributes to growth suppression and autophagy induction in cancer cells
6 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (protective or pro-death) ↑ adaptive autophagy Secondary Stress adaptation vs cell death Autophagy may be cytoprotective or cooperate with apoptosis depending on context and dose
7 HIF-1α / VEGF hypoxia–angiogenesis axis ↓ HIF-1α; ↓ VEGF ↔ minimal effect Secondary Anti-angiogenic pressure Suppression of hypoxia-driven transcription limits angiogenesis and tumor adaptation
8 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G2/M or G1 arrest ↔ largely spared Phenotypic Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest reflects upstream signaling and epigenetic effects rather than direct CDK inhibition
9 Migration / invasion (EMT, MMP axis) ↓ migration & invasion ↔ Phenotypic Anti-metastatic phenotype Reduced EMT markers and protease activity limit invasive behavior
10 Epigenetic regulation (p300/CBP HAT activity) ↓ histone acetylation ↔ modest Secondary Transcriptional reprogramming Curcumin modulates chromatin via HAT inhibition rather than classic HDAC inhibition


HH, Hedgehog signaling: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: CGL-CF
Type: HH
Sonic hedgehog, Shh; Indian hedgehog, Ihh; Desert hedgehog, Dhh ; Hh signaling pathway is able to regulate the EMT. Hh signaling-related factors, SHH, SMO and GLI1.
Hedgehog signaling is a crucial pathway in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis, but its dysregulation has been implicated in various cancers. The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is activated by the binding of Hedgehog ligands (such as Sonic Hedgehog, Indian Hedgehog, and Desert Hedgehog) to their receptors, primarily Patched (PTCH) and Smoothened (SMO).

-Hedgehog pathway is crucial for the maintenance of stem cell populations. When deregulated, it can help sustain cancer stem cells (CSCs) that possess self-renewal properties, drive tumor recurrence, and confer resistance to conventional therapies.

-Inhibitors of the pathway, such as vismodegib and sonidegib, have been developed and are used in clinical settings, particularly for treating advanced BCC and other Hedgehog-dependent tumors.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3861- CUR,    Curcumin as a novel therapeutic candidate for cancer: can this natural compound revolutionize cancer treatment?
- Review, Var, NA
*antiOx↑, *Inflam↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, mTOR↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, NF-kB↓, HH↓, NOTCH↓, JAK↓, STAT3↓, ADAM10↓,
4650- CUR,    Curcumin and cancer stem cells: curcumin has asymmetrical effects on cancer and normal stem cells
- Review, Var, NA
SCD1↓, IL6↓, IL8↓, IL1↓, *selectivity↑, Wnt↝, NOTCH↝, HH↝, FAK↝,
9- CUR,    Curcumin Suppresses Malignant Glioma Cells Growth and Induces Apoptosis by Inhibition of SHH/GLI1 Signaling Pathway in Vitro and Vivo
- vitro+vivo, MG, U87MG - vitro+vivo, MG, T98G
HH↓, Shh↓, Gli1↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Bcl-2↓, FOXM1↓, Bax:Bcl2↑, TumCP↓, TumCMig↓, Apoptosis↑, TumVol↑, TumCCA↑, Casp3↑, OS↑,
10- CUR,    Curcumin Suppresses Lung Cancer Stem Cells via Inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin and Sonic Hedgehog Pathways
- in-vitro, Lung, A549 - in-vitro, Lung, H1299
HH↓, Wnt/(β-catenin)↓, Shh↓, Smo↓, Gli1↝, GLI2↝, CSCs↓, CD133↓, CSCsMark↓,
11- CUR,    Curcumin inhibits hypoxia-induced epithelial‑mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer cells via suppression of the hedgehog signaling pathway
- in-vitro, PC, PANC1
HH↓, Shh↓, Smo↓, Gli1↓, N-cadherin↓, E-cadherin↑, Vim↓, TumCP↓, TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, EMT↓, chemoPv↑,
12- CUR,    Curcumin inhibits the Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway and triggers apoptosis in medulloblastoma cells
- in-vitro, MB, DAOY
HH↓, Shh↓, Gli1↓, PTCH1↓, cMyc↓, n-MYC↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Bcl-2↓, NF-kB↓, Akt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, survivin↓, Apoptosis↑, ChemoSen↑, RadioS↑, eff↑,
411- CUR,    Curcumin inhibits the invasion and metastasis of triple negative breast cancer via Hedgehog/Gli1 signaling pathway
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231
HH↓, EMT↓, Gli1↓,
166- GEN,  EGCG,  RES,  CUR,    Common botanical compounds inhibit the hedgehog signaling pathway in prostate cancer
- in-vivo, Pca, NA
HH↓, Gli1↓,
4667- RES,  CUR,  SFN,    Physiological modulation of cancer stem cells by natural compounds: Insights from preclinical models
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, ChemoSen↑, RadioS↑, ALDH↓, CD44↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, NOTCH↓, HH↓, NF-kB↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 9 of 9

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 9

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 1,   SCD1↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   Apoptosis↑, 2,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Casp3↑, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

ALDH↓, 1,   CD133↓, 1,   CD44↓, 1,   CSCs↓, 2,   CSCsMark↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   FOXM1↓, 1,   Gli1↓, 5,   Gli1↝, 1,   HH↓, 8,   HH↝, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   n-MYC↓, 1,   NOTCH↓, 2,   NOTCH↝, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   PTCH1↓, 1,   Shh↓, 4,   Smo↓, 2,   STAT3↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 2,   Wnt↝, 1,   Wnt/(β-catenin)↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

E-cadherin↑, 1,   FAK↝, 1,   GLI2↝, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 2,   TumCP↓, 2,   Vim↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 3,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

IL1↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   IL8↓, 1,   JAK↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 3,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission ⓘ

ADAM10↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

ChemoSen↑, 2,   eff↑, 1,   RadioS↑, 2,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

FOXM1↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

chemoPv↑, 1,   OS↑, 1,   TumVol↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 56

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

selectivity↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 3

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: HH, Hedgehog signaling
9 Curcumin
2 Resveratrol
1 Genistein (soy isoflavone)
1 EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)
1 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
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#:65  Target#:141  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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