Juglone / NRF2 Cancer Research Results

JG, Juglone: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Found in roots, leaves, nut-hulls, bark and wood of walnut trees.
Juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone)
Juglans nigra refers to the black walnut tree, which is one of the most well-known sources of juglone
-Research has focused on the hulls (the green outer covering of the walnut) because they have the highest concentrations.
-Fresh hulls can contain juglone levels in the range of approximately 1–5% of the dry weight

-Juglone can redox cycle to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).
-Increasing Bax, decreasing Bcl‑2, caspase activation, and MMP depolarization.
-Modulation of MAPK pathways (including ERK, JNK, and p38)
-May inhibit NF‑κB signaling
-Cause DNA damage or stress that, in turn, leads to p53 pathway activation— Pin1 Inhibition
–Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase, is frequently overexpressed in cancer.

-ic50 maybe 5-10uM
-For matching 5uM, crude estimate is 5mg consumption of juglone required which might be 1.5 g of black walnut hull material

Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance Ref
1 Redox cycling (quinone–semiquinone system) ↑↑ ROS Oxidative stress overload Juglone can act as a redox-cycling quinone; ROS elevation is a dominant upstream driver in multiple cancer models (ref)
2 Thiol buffering (GSH depletion) ↓ GSH Loss of redox buffering In HL-60 leukemia cells, juglone induces ROS and explicitly depletes GSH; antioxidants block downstream apoptosis markers (ref)
3 Mitochondrial integrity (ΔΨm) ↓ ΔΨm Mitochondrial dysfunction In LNCaP prostate cancer cells, juglone decreases mitochondrial potential (ΔΨ) during intrinsic apoptosis (ref)
4 Intrinsic apoptosis (Caspase-9 → Caspase-3) ↑ Caspase-9/3 activation Programmed cell death Same LNCaP evidence base: intrinsic apoptosis with activation of caspases 3 and 9 is reported for juglone (ref)
5 DNA damage / genotoxic stress ↑ DNA damage Checkpoint activation and death signaling Juglone is reported to have genotoxic effects (DNA damage) in melanoma models, consistent with ROS-driven injury (ref)
6 p53 stress response ↑ p53 pathway (activation) Cell-cycle arrest / apoptosis cooperation Human liver cancer model: juglone drives apoptosis and autophagy via a ROS-mediated p53 pathway (in vitro and in vivo) (ref)
7 MAPK stress pathways (JNK / p38) ↑ JNK / ↑ p38 Pro-death stress signaling Mechanistic synthesis notes juglone induces ROS and activates JNK and p38 MAPK, contributing to cell death signaling (ref)
8 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB Reduced pro-survival transcription Literature reports juglone inhibits NF-κB production/signaling in colonic cancer cell contexts (noted as prior work) (ref)
9 PI3K–AKT survival pathway ↓ PI3K / ↓ p-AKT Survival pathway suppression NSCLC: juglone increases ROS and inhibits PI3K/Akt signaling; NAC (ROS scavenger) attenuates apoptosis and pathway changes (ref)
10 Cell cycle control ↑ arrest Proliferation blockade NSCLC: juglone arrests the cell cycle alongside ROS rise and apoptosis marker changes (ref)
11 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (stress-associated) Stress adaptation / death crosstalk Juglone induces both apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells via MAPK pathway modulation (with ROS-MAPK coupling) (ref)
12 Angiogenesis signaling (VEGF) ↓ VEGF Reduced vascular support Pancreatic cancer cell lines: juglone reduces VEGF gene expression (and other metastasis/angiogenesis-related genes) at sub-IC50 exposure (ref)


NRF2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2: Click to Expand ⟱
Source: TCGA
Type: Antiapoptotic
Nrf2 is responsible for regulating an extensive panel of antioxidant enzymes involved in the detoxification and elimination of oxidative stress. Thought of as "Master Regulator" of antioxidant response.
-One way to estimate Nrf2 induction is through the expression of NQO1.
NQO1, the most potent inducer:
SFN 0.2 μM,
quercetin (2.5 μM),
curcumin (2.7 μM),
Silymarin (3.6 μM),
tamoxifen (5.9 μM),
genistein (6.2 μM ),
beta-carotene (7.2μM),
lutein (17 μM),
resveratrol (21 μM),
indol-3-carbinol (50 μM),
chlorophyll (250 μM),
alpha-cryptoxanthin (1.8 mM),
and zeaxanthin (2.2 mM)

1. Raising Nrf2 enhances the cell's antioxidant defenses and ↓ROS. This strategy is used to decrease chemo-radio side effects.
2. Downregulating Nrf2 lowers antioxidant defenses and ↑ROS. In cancer cells this leads to DNA damage, and cell death.
3. However there are some cases where increasing Nrf2 paradoxically causes an increase in ROS (cancer cells). Such as cases of Mitochondial overload, signal crosstalk, reductive stress

-In some cases, Nrf2 is overexpressed in cancer cells, which can lead to the activation of genes involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. This can contribute to the development of resistance to chemotherapy and targeted therapies.
-Increased Nrf2 expression: Lung, Breast, Colorectal, Prostrate.
Decreased Nrf2 expression: Skine, Liver, Pancreatic.
-Nrf2 is a cytoprotective transcription factor which demonstrated both a negative effect as well as a positive effect on cancer
- "promotes Nrf2 translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus," means facilitates the movement of Nrf2 into the nucleus, thereby enhancing the cell's antioxidant and cytoprotective responses. -Major regulator of Nrf2 activity in cells is the cytosolic inhibitor Keap1.

Nrf2 Inhibitors and Activators
Nrf2 Inhibitors: Brusatol, Luteolin, Trigonelline, VitC, Retinoic acid, Chrysin
Nrf2 Activators: SFN, OPZ EGCG, Resveratrol, DATS, CUR, CDDO, Api
- potent Nrf2 inducers from plants include sulforaphane, curcumin, EGCG, resveratrol, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, wasabi, cafestol and kahweol (coffee), cinnamon, ginger, garlic, lycopene, rosemany

Nrf2 plays dual roles in that it can protect normal tissues against oxidative damage and can act as an oncogenic protein in tumor tissue.
– In healthy tissues, NRF2 activation helps protect cells from oxidative damage and maintains cellular homeostasis.
– In many cancers, constitutive activation of NRF2 (often through mutations in NRF2 itself or loss-of-function mutations in KEAP1) leads to an enhanced antioxidant capacity.
– This upregulation can promote tumor cell survival by enabling cancer cells to thrive under oxidative stress, resist chemotherapeutic agents, and sustain metabolic reprogramming.
– Elevated NRF2 levels have been implicated in promoting tumor growth, metastasis, and resistance to therapy in various malignancies.
– High or sustained NRF2 activity is frequently associated with aggressive tumor phenotypes, poorer prognosis, and decreased overall survival in several cancer types.
– While its activation is essential for protecting normal cells from oxidative stress, aberrant or sustained NRF2 activation in tumor cells can lead to enhanced survival, therapeutic resistance, and tumor progression.

NRF2 inhibitors: (to decrease antioxidant defenses and increase cell death from ROS).
-Brusatol: most cited natural inhibitors of Nrf2.
-Luteolin: luteolin can reduce Nrf2 activity in specific cancer models and may enhance cell sensitivity to chemotherapy. However, luteolin is also known as an antioxidant, and its influence on Nrf2 can sometimes be context dependent.
-Apigenin: certain studies to down‑regulate Nrf2 in cancer cells: Dose and context dependent .
-Oridonin:
-Wogonin: although its effects might be cell‑ and dose‑specific.
- Withaferin A

Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
5099- JG,    Juglone induces ferroptosis in glioblastoma cells by inhibiting the Nrf2-GPX4 axis through the phosphorylation of p38MAPK
- vitro+vivo, GBM, LN229 - vitro+vivo, GBM, T98G
Ferroptosis↑, p‑MAPK↑, NRF2↓, GPx4↓, TumPF↓, Apoptosis↑, ROS↑, GSH↓, lipid-P↑, Ki-67↓, TumCG↓,

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

Ferroptosis↑, 1,   GPx4↓, 1,   GSH↓, 1,   lipid-P↑, 1,   NRF2↓, 1,   ROS↑, 1,  

Cell Death

Apoptosis↑, 1,   Ferroptosis↑, 1,   p‑MAPK↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

TumCG↓, 1,  

Migration

Ki-67↓, 1,   TumPF↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

Ki-67↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 13

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Total Targets: 0

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: NRF2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2
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#:105  Target#:226  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

Home Page