| 1 |
Topoisomerase I and II |
TOP1-DNA cleavage complexes ↑; TOP1 and TOP2 activity ↓; DNA damage ↑ |
DNA damage possible ↑ at sufficient exposure |
R–G |
Replication stress, DNA strand damage and growth inhibition |
Evodiamine has been reported as a TOP1 poison or cleavage-complex stabilizer and as a dual TOP1/TOP2 catalytic inhibitor; the precise mode is assay-dependent. |
| 2 |
Tubulin and mitotic progression |
Tubulin polymerization altered; G2/M arrest ↑; mitotic arrest ↑ |
Mitotic toxicity possible ↑ in proliferating normal cells |
R–G |
Failure of mitotic progression |
Microtubule disruption may explain the frequent G2/M phenotype better than TOP1 inhibition alone. |
| 3 |
Mitochondrial apoptosis |
Mitochondrial membrane potential ↓; Bax ↑; Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL ↓; cytochrome c ↑; caspase-9 and caspase-3 ↑ |
Mitochondrial toxicity possible ↑ (dose-dependent) |
R–G |
Intrinsic apoptotic cell death |
One of the most consistently reproduced downstream effects across cancer models. |
| 4 |
PI3K AKT mTOR survival signalling |
PI3K ↓; p-AKT ↓; mTOR signalling ↓ |
Variable or insufficiently characterized |
R–G |
Reduced survival, proliferation and therapy resistance |
Observed in glioma, pancreatic, hepatic, prostate and other cancer models; not necessarily a direct molecular target. |
| 5 |
Mitochondrial ROS and oxidative stress |
ROS ↑; oxidative damage ↑; mitochondrial dysfunction ↑ |
Oxidative injury possible ↑ at toxic concentrations |
P–R |
Amplification of apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest |
ROS dependence is model-dependent; antioxidant rescue has been reported in selected systems. This is not evidence of cancer-selective oxidative stress in humans. |
| 6 |
Stress MAPK signalling |
JNK ↑; p38 ↑; ERK variable |
Variable or insufficiently characterized |
P–R |
Stress signalling, mitotic arrest and apoptosis |
MAPK direction varies by cell type and exposure; JNK activation is mechanistically important in several colorectal and mitochondrial-apoptosis models. |
| 7 |
NF-κB inflammatory and survival signalling |
IKK activity ↓; IκBα degradation ↓; NF-κB activation ↓; COX-2 ↓; anti-apoptotic proteins ↓ |
Inflammatory signalling ↓ (context-dependent) |
R–G |
Reduced survival, inflammation, invasion and chemoresistance |
NF-κB suppression can sensitize experimental tumors to gemcitabine and other cytotoxic treatments. |
| 8 |
SHP-1 STAT3 axis |
SHP-1 ↑; STAT3 Tyr705 phosphorylation ↓; cyclin D1, survivin, XIAP, VEGF and MMP-9 ↓ |
Insufficiently characterized |
R–G |
Reduced proliferation, angiogenesis and survival |
Strongly demonstrated in hepatocellular carcinoma models but may not generalize uniformly across cancers. |
| 9 |
HSP70 proteostasis |
HSP70 function ↓; proteotoxic stress ↑; cancer stem-cell survival ↓ |
Potential proteostasis toxicity (dose-dependent) |
R–G |
Apoptosis of bulk, stem-like and drug-resistant cancer populations |
HSP70 has been proposed as a direct functional target, providing a potential mechanism against chemoresistant subpopulations. |
| 10 |
Autophagy |
LC3-II and autophagosome formation ↑ |
Insufficiently characterized |
G |
Context-dependent cell death or survival adaptation |
Autophagy may contribute to cytotoxicity in some models but protect tumor cells in others; combination with autophagy inhibition can enhance activity experimentally. |
| 11 |
EMT invasion and angiogenesis |
EMT ↓; MMP-2 and MMP-9 ↓; VEGF ↓; migration and invasion ↓ |
Endothelial angiogenic activity may ↓ |
G |
Reduced metastatic and angiogenic phenotype |
Primarily preclinical and often secondary to suppression of NF-κB, STAT3, AKT or β-catenin signalling. |
| 12 |
MUC1-C PD-L1 immune-evasion axis |
MUC1-C ↓; PD-L1 ↓; CD8-positive T-cell activity ↑ in immunocompetent models |
Normal immune effects uncertain |
G |
Reduced immune evasion |
Promising but model-specific evidence; no clinical immunotherapy combination data are available. |
| 13 |
Chemosensitization |
Resistance signalling ↓; apoptosis with gemcitabine, erlotinib or other agents ↑ |
Combination toxicity uncertain |
G |
Enhanced experimental treatment response |
Combination effects remain preclinical and cannot currently support adjunct use in patients. |
| 14 |
Clinical Translation Constraint |
Systemic exposure after oral dosing very low |
Hepatic and cardiac injury possible; CYP-mediated interactions possible |
G |
Limits clinical feasibility and therapeutic index |
Poor solubility, approximately 0.1% rat oral bioavailability, extensive metabolism, uncertain human dosing, hepatotoxicity and cardiotoxicity prevent direct translation of micromolar in-vitro findings. |