Curcumin / CSCs 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


CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Cancer Stem Cells

Phytochemicals (natural plant-derived compounds) that may affect CSCs:
Curcumin
— suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Resveratrol
— shown to reduce CSC populations and sphere formation in multiple models.
Sulforaphane (from broccoli sprouts)
— reported to inhibit CSC properties and pathways; active in vitro and in vivo.
EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, green tea)
— reduces CSC markers and sphere formation in several cancer types.
Quercetin
— reported to inhibit CSC proliferation, self-renewal and invasiveness (breast, endometrial, others).
Berberine
— shown to suppress CSC “stemness” and reduce tumorigenic properties in multiple models.
Genistein (soy isoflavone)
— decreases CSC markers, sphere formation and stemness signaling in prostate/breast/other models.
Honokiol (Magnolia bark)
— shown to eliminate or suppress CSC-like populations in oral, colon, glioma models.
Luteolin
— inhibits stemness/EMT and reduces CSC markers and self-renewal in breast, prostate and other models.
Withaferin A (from Withania somnifera / ashwagandha)
— multiple preclinical reports show WA targets CSCs and reduces tumor growth/metastasis in models.

Circadian disruption in cancer and regulation of cancer stem cells by circadian clock genes: An updated review
Potential Role of the Circadian Clock in the Regulation of Cancer Stem Cells and Cancer Therapy
Can we utilise the circadian clock to target cancer stem cells?
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
4651- CUR,    Targeting cancer stem cells by curcumin and clinical applications
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, *toxicity↓, *BioAv↝, chemoP↑,
4655- CUR,    Inhibition of Cancer Stem-like Cells by Curcumin and Other Polyphenol Derivatives in MDA-MB-231 TNBC Cells
- in-vitro, BC, NA
CSCs↓, *BioAv↓,
5397- CUR,  SFN,  RES,  EGCG,  Ash  Targeting Cancer Stem Cells with Phytochemicals: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓,
4652- CUR,    Anticancer effect of curcumin on breast cancer and stem cells
- Review, BC, NA
TumCP↓, TumMeta↓, TumCCA↑, Apoptosis↑, CSCs↓, NF-kB↓, Telomerase↓, Cyt‑c↑, Casp9↑, Casp3↑, E-cadherin↑,
4676- CUR,    Curcumin suppresses stem-like traits of lung cancer cells via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway
- vitro+vivo, Lung, H460
CSCs↓, JAK2↓, STAT3↓, TumCP↓, TumCG↓,
4675- CUR,    Curcumin improves the efficacy of cisplatin by targeting cancer stem-like cells through p21 and cyclin D1-mediated tumour cell inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines
- in-vitro, NSCLC, A549
ChemoSen↑, CSCs↓, EpCAM↓, TumCCA↓, VEGF↓, MMP9↓, toxicity↓,
4674- CUR,    Curcumin Shows Promise in Targeting Colorectal Cancer Stem-like Cells: Mechanistic Insights and Clinical Implications
- Review, CRC, NA
CSCs↓, Nanog↓,
4672- CUR,    An old spice with new tricks: Curcumin targets adenoma and colorectal cancer stem-like cells associated with poor survival outcomes
- vitro+vivo, CRC, HCT116
CSCs↓, Nanog↓, BioAv↓,
4671- CUR,    Targeting colorectal cancer stem cells using curcumin and curcumin analogues: insights into the mechanism of the therapeutic efficacy
- in-vitro, CRC, NA
CSCs↓, TumCG↓, ChemoSen↑, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, Shh↓, NOTCH↓, DNMT1↓, STAT3↓, NF-kB↓, EGFR↓, IGFR↓, TumCCA↓, cl‑PARP↑, BAX↑, ECM/TCF↓,
4656- CUR,  EGCG,    Curcumin and epigallocatechin gallate inhibit the cancer stem cell phenotype via down-regulation of STAT3-NFκB signaling
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231 - in-vitro, BC, MCF-7
CSCs↓, CD44↓, p‑STAT3↓, NF-kB↓, TumCI↓,
4653- CUR,    Curcumin: a promising agent targeting cancer stem cells
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓,
2688- CUR,    Effects of resveratrol, curcumin, berberine and other nutraceuticals on aging, cancer development, cancer stem cells and microRNAs
- Review, Var, NA - Review, AD, NA
*ROS↓, *SOD↑, p16↑, JAK2↓, STAT3↓, CXCL12↓, IL6↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, LAMs↓, DNAdam↑, *memory↑, *cognitive↑, *Inflam↓, *antiOx↑, *NO↑, *MDA↓, *ROS↓, DNMT1↓, ROS↑, Casp3↑, Apoptosis↑, miR-21↓, LC3II↓, ChemoSen↑, NF-kB↓, CSCs↓, Nanog↓, OCT4↓, SOX2↓, eff↑, Sp1/3/4↓, miR-27a-3p↓, ZBTB10↑, SOX9?, ChemoSen↑, VEGF↓, XIAP↓, Bcl-2↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, BioAv↑, Hif1a↓, EMT↓, BioAv↓, PTEN↑, VEGF↓, Akt↑, EZH2↓, NOTCH1↓, TP53↑, NQO1↑, HO-1↑,
437- CUR,    Anti-cancer activity of amorphous curcumin preparation in patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids
- vitro+vivo, CRC, TCO1 - vitro+vivo, CRC, TCO2
cycD1/CCND1↓, cMyc↓, p‑ERK↓, CD44↓, CD133↓, LGR5↓, TumCCA↑, TumVol↓, CSCs↓,
450- CUR,    Curcumin may be a potential adjuvant treatment drug for colon cancer by targeting CD44
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116 - in-vitro, CRC, HCT8
TumCP↓, TumCMig↓, CD44↓, CSCs↓,
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↓,
4664- GEN,  CUR,  RES,  EGCG,  SFN  Targeting cancer stem cells by nutraceuticals for cancer therapy
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, other↝, eff↑, CD44↓, p‑STAT3↓,
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↓,
4904- Sal,  CUR,    Co-delivery of Salinomycin and Curcumin for Cancer Stem Cell Treatment by Inhibition of Cell Proliferation, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition
CSCs↓, TumCCA↑, EMT↓, other↝, TumAuto↑, Iron↑, Ferroptosis↑, BioAv↓, ROS↑, lipid-P↑, GPx4↓, eff↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 18 of 18

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 18

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

Ferroptosis↑, 1,   GPx4↓, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   Iron↑, 1,   lipid-P↑, 1,   NQO1↑, 1,   ROS↑, 2,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↑, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 2,   BAX↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Casp3↑, 2,   Casp9↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   Ferroptosis↑, 1,   Telomerase↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

SOX9?, 1,   Sp1/3/4↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

EZH2↓, 1,   miR-21↓, 1,   miR-27a-3p↓, 1,   other↝, 2,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↓, 1,   TumAuto↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 1,   DNMT1↓, 2,   p16↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,   TP53↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   TumCCA↓, 2,   TumCCA↑, 3,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

ALDH↓, 1,   CD133↓, 2,   CD44↓, 5,   CSCs↓, 18,   CSCsMark↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   EpCAM↓, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   Gli1↝, 1,   HH↓, 2,   IGFR↓, 1,   LGR5↓, 1,   Nanog↓, 3,   NOTCH↓, 2,   NOTCH1↓, 1,   OCT4↓, 1,   PTEN↑, 1,   Shh↓, 2,   Smo↓, 1,   SOX2↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 3,   p‑STAT3↓, 2,   TumCG↓, 2,   Wnt↓, 2,   Wnt/(β-catenin)↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

CXCL12↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 1,   GLI2↝, 1,   LAMs↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 2,   TGF-β↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 3,   TumMeta↓, 1,   α-SMA↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

ECM/TCF↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 3,   ZBTB10↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

IL6↓, 1,   JAK2↓, 2,   NF-kB↓, 5,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 3,   BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 5,   eff↑, 3,   RadioS↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

EGFR↓, 1,   EZH2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   TP53↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

chemoP↑, 1,   toxicity↓, 1,   TumVol↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 92

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 1,   MDA↓, 1,   ROS↓, 2,   SOD↑, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

NO↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

Inflam↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cognitive↑, 1,   memory↑, 1,   toxicity↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 11

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: CSCs, Cancer Stem Cells
18 Curcumin
3 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
3 Resveratrol
3 EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)
1 Ashwagandha(Withaferin A)
1 Genistein (soy isoflavone)
1 salinomycin
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#:795  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

Home Page