Silymarin (Milk Thistle) silibinin / N-cadherin Cancer Research Results

SIL, Silymarin (Milk Thistle) silibinin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Silymarin (Milk Thistle) Flowering herb related to daisy and ragweed family.
Silibinin (INN), also known as silybin is the major active constituent of silymarin, a standardized extract of the milk thistle seeds.
-a flavonoid combination of 65–80% of seven flavolignans; the most important of these include silybin, isosilybin, silychristin, isosilychristin, and silydianin. Silybin is the most abundant compound in around 50–70% in isoforms silybin A and silybin B

-Note half-life 6hrs?.
BioAv not soluble in water, low bioAv (1%). 240mg yielded only 0.34ug/ml plasma level. oral administration of SM (equivalent to 120 mg silibinin), total (unconjugated + conjugated) silibinin concentration in plasma was 1.1–1.3 μg/mL, so can not achieve levels used in most in-vitro studies.
Pathways:
- results for both inducing and reducing ROS in cancer cells. In normal cell seems to consistently lower ROS. Reports show both ROS↑ and ROS↓ in cancer models; systemic pro-oxidant effects may require higher exposures than typical oral dosing, but local or combination contexts may differ. (level in GUT could be much higher (800uM).
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑,
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓(context-dependent; often stress-activated), Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TIMP2, uPA↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, P53↑, HSP↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, GRP78↑(ER stress), Glucose↓, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, β-catenin↓, Notch2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, JNK, - SREBP (related to cholesterol).
- 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 TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 ROS / redox buffering + mitochondrial protection Often ↑ stress susceptibility; can support apoptosis when survival signaling is blocked ↓ oxidative stress; mitochondrial protection P, R, G Context-selective redox modulation Silymarin is classically cytoprotective/antioxidant in normal tissues (notably liver), while in tumors it can weaken pro-survival adaptation and increase vulnerability to stressors and therapy.
2 Intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondria → caspases) ↑ apoptosis signaling; ↑ caspase activation ↔ minimal activation G Cell death execution Common downstream outcome in cancer models: apoptosis increases after earlier signaling/redox shifts and/or checkpoint disruption.
3 Cell-cycle control (cyclins/CDKs; checkpoints) ↑ arrest (G1/S or G2/M depending on model) G Cytostasis Typically observed as reduced proliferation with checkpoint engagement; timing usually later than kinase phosphorylation changes.
4 NF-κB inflammatory transcription ↓ NF-κB activity; ↓ inflammatory/pro-survival tone ↔ or protective anti-inflammatory effect R, G Anti-inflammatory / anti-survival transcription NF-κB suppression can reduce tumor-promoting inflammation and blunt stress-adaptive survival programs.
5 JAK/STAT3 axis (incl. PD-L1 / immune escape programs in some models) ↓ STAT3 signaling (context); may ↓ PD-L1 in certain tumor contexts R, G Reduced survival + immune-evasion signaling Reported to attenuate STAT3-driven tumor programs and, in some contexts, reduce immune-suppressive signaling (model dependent).
6 PI3K → AKT → mTOR survival / growth signaling ↓ PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling (context) R, G Growth/survival suppression Reduced PI3K/AKT/mTOR tone increases sensitivity to apoptosis and can reinforce cell-cycle arrest.
7 MAPK re-wiring (ERK/p38/JNK balance) Stress-MAPK shifts; ERK tone often reduced or re-patterned P, R, G Signal reprogramming Early phosphorylation shifts can precede later gene-expression changes; exact ERK direction is model and dose dependent.
8 Angiogenesis (VEGF and angiogenic factors) ↓ VEGF / angiogenesis outputs G Anti-angiogenic support Typically reflected in reduced pro-angiogenic expression/secretion and angiogenesis-related phenotypes over longer windows.
9 EMT / invasion / migration programs (incl. TGF-β/Smad-associated EMT in some systems) ↓ EMT markers; ↓ migration/invasion G Anti-invasive phenotype Often presents as restoration of epithelial markers and suppression of migration/invasion assays; commonly a later phenotype-level outcome.
10 Xenobiotic handling (Phase I/II enzymes; cytoprotection / chemoprevention framing) May alter carcinogen activation/detox balance ↑ detox / cytoprotection against xenobiotics G Chemopreventive protection A key “dual strategy” theme: protection of normal tissue from toxins/therapy while modulating tumor response pathways.
11 Drug resistance / efflux (MDR phenotype; P-gp-related resistance in some models) May ↓ functional MDR and ↑ chemo sensitivity (context) R, G Chemo-sensitization support Reported synergy with chemotherapy in resistant tumor settings; transporter direction can be context-specific, so present as “reported to reduce functional resistance” rather than a universal single-transporter claim.
12 Immune microenvironment signaling (cytokines / macrophage recruitment in some models) May ↓ pro-tumor cytokine programs and recruitment signals (context) G Anti-inflammatory tumor microenvironment shift Immune-modulatory effects are increasingly discussed, but they are more model-dependent and typically show on longer time scales.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (primary/physical–chemical effects; rapid signaling / phosphorylation shifts)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (redox signaling + acute stress-response signaling)
  • G: >3 hr (gene-regulatory adaptation and phenotype-level outcomes)


N-cadherin, N-cadherin: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Also known as Cadherin2 (CDH2).
N-cadherin is a type of cell adhesion molecule that plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of tissue structure. In the context of cancer, N-cadherin has been implicated in the progression and metastasis of various types of tumors.
N-cadherin expression is increased in various types of cancer.
Normally, N-cadherin is expressed in mesenchymal cells, such as fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. However, in cancer cells, N-cadherin expression is often upregulated, which can contribute to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is a process by which epithelial cells acquire a more mesenchymal phenotype, which is characterized by increased motility, invasiveness, and resistance to apoptosis.
The expression of N-cadherin in cancer cells is closely associated with tumorigenesis and metastasis. Additionally, the soluble N-cadherin level in the serum of cancer patients is much higher than that in the serum of healthy patients, revealing a positive relation with poor prognosis.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3296- SIL,    Silibinin induces oral cancer cell apoptosis and reactive oxygen species generation by activating the JNK/c-Jun pathway
- in-vitro, Oral, Ca9-22 - in-vivo, Oral, YD10B
TumCP↓, TumCCA↑, ROS↑, SOD1↓, SOD2↓, *JNK↑, toxicity?, TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, N-cadherin↓, Vim↓, E-cadherin↑, EMT↓, P53↑, cl‑Casp3↑, cl‑PARP↑, BAX↑, Bcl-2↓, SOD↓,
3301- SIL,    Critical review of therapeutic potential of silymarin in cancer: A bioactive polyphenolic flavonoid
- Review, Var, NA
Inflam↓, TumCCA↑, Apoptosis↓, TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, angioG↓, chemoP↑, radioP↑, p‑ERK↓, p‑p38↓, p‑JNK↓, P53↑, Bcl-2↓, Bcl-xL↓, TGF-β↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, E-cadherin↑, Wnt↓, Vim↓, VEGF↓, IL6↓, STAT3↓, *ROS↓, IL1β↓, PGE2↓, CDK1↓, CycB/CCNB1↓, survivin↓, Mcl-1↓, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, cMyc↓, COX2↓, Hif1a↓, CXCR4↓, CSCs↓, EMT↓, N-cadherin↓, PCNA↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, ROS↑, eff↑, eff↑, eff↑, HER2/EBBR2↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 2 of 2

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 2

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↑, 2,   SOD↓, 1,   SOD1↓, 1,   SOD2↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

cMyc↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Apoptosis↓, 1,   BAX↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp3↑, 1,   cl‑Casp3↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,   p‑JNK↓, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   p‑p38↓, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction

HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

P53↑, 2,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,   PCNA↓, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

CDK1↓, 1,   CycB/CCNB1↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

CSCs↓, 1,   EMT↓, 2,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,   TumCG↓, 1,   Wnt↓, 1,  

Migration

E-cadherin↑, 2,   MMP2↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 2,   TGF-β↓, 1,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 1,   TumMeta↓, 1,   Vim↓, 2,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

angioG↓, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 1,   CXCR4↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   PGE2↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

eff↑, 3,  

Clinical Biomarkers

HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

chemoP↑, 1,   radioP↑, 1,   toxicity?, 1,  
Total Targets: 55

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↓, 1,  

Cell Death

JNK↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 2

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: N-cadherin, N-cadherin
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#:154  Target#:355  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

Home Page