Curcumin / PFK1 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


PFK1, Phosphofructokinase-1: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1) is a key regulatory enzyme in glycolysis that catalyzes the conversion of fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.
– As a rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis, PFK1 is subject to complex regulation through allosteric effectors including ATP, AMP, and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate.
• Metabolic Control:
PFK1 activity is central to controlling the pace of glycolysis, thereby influencing energy production and intermediary metabolite supply.
– In highly proliferative cells or cells under growth conditions, increased glycolytic flux (and, by extension, PFK1 activity) supports the biosynthetic demands of cell division.

– Many tumors (including breast, colorectal, and lung cancers) have been reported to have increased PFK1 expression/activity relative to normal tissues.
– High glycolytic flux, driven partly by enhanced PFK1, supports rapid cell proliferation and survival in the nutrient/stress-challenged tumor microenvironment.

Inhibitors:(typically glycolysis is targeted more broadly)
-Citrate
-Hydrogen ions (pH) – Acidic conditions can have inhibitory effects.
-3PO: inhibits PFKFB3, thereby indirectly reducing PFK1 activity.
-Resveratrol can downregulate glycolytic flux in cancer cells, which may indirectly affect PFK1 activity.
- FMDs offer an indirect strategy to modulate cancer metabolism by broadly reducing glycolysis. Their impact on PFK1 is likely part of a complex network of metabolic adaptations rather than a direct inhibitory effect.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2308- CUR,    Counteracting Action of Curcumin on High Glucose-Induced Chemoresistance in Hepatic Carcinoma Cells
- in-vitro, Liver, HepG2
GlucoseCon↓, lactateProd↓, ECAR↓, NO↓, ROS↑, HK2↓, PFK1↓, GAPDH↓, PKM2↓, LDHA↓, FASN↓, GLUT1↓, MCT1↓, MCT4↓, HCAR1↓, SDH↑, ChemoSen↑, ROS↑, BioAv↑, P53↑, NF-kB↓, pH↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 1 of 1

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 1

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↑, 2,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

SDH↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

ECAR↓, 1,   FASN↓, 1,   GAPDH↓, 1,   GlucoseCon↓, 1,   HK2↓, 1,   lactateProd↓, 1,   LDHA↓, 1,   MCT4↓, 1,   PFK1↓, 1,   PKM2↓, 1,  

Cell Death

MCT1↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

P53↑, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

NO↓, 1,  

Barriers & Transport

GLUT1↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

HCAR1↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 1,  

Cellular Microenvironment

pH↑, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 21

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Total Targets: 0

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: PFK1, Phosphofructokinase-1
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#:988  State#:%  Dir#:%
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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