Thymoquinone / Apoptosis Cancer Research Results

TQ, Thymoquinone: Click to Expand ⟱
Features: Anti-oxidant, anti-tumor
Thymoquinone is a bioactive compound found in the seeds of Nigella sativa, commonly known as black seed or black cumin.
Pathways:
-Cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, ROS generation in cancer cells
-inhibit the activation of NF-κB, Suppress the PI3K/Akt signaling cascade
-Inhibit angiogenic factors such as VEGF, MMPs
-Inhibit HDACs, UHRF1, and DNMTs

-Note half-life 3-6hrs.
BioAv low oral bioavailability due to its lipophilic nature. Note refridgeration of Black seed oil improves the stability of TQ.
DIY: ~1 part lecithin : 2–3 parts black seed oil : 4–5 parts warm water. (chat ai)
Pathways:
- usually induce ROS production in Cancer cells, and lowers ROS in normal cells
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓, Prx,
- May Low AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓(usually contrary), GSH↓ HO1↓(contrary), GPx↓
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, TGF-β↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓, TET↑
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TNF-α↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PDKs↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, α↓, ERK↓, JNK,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Label Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance Ref
1 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS Driver Upstream cytotoxic trigger Primary studies show TQ rapidly increases ROS; antioxidant/ROS modulation attenuates downstream effects, supporting ROS as an initiating mechanism in multiple cancer contexts (ref)
2 Glutathione (GSH) redox buffering ↓ GSH Driver Redox-collapse amplification Same prostate cancer study reports early GSH depletion alongside ROS rise; together these form a redox “one-two punch” that helps explain selective stress in tumor cells (ref)
3 Mitochondrial integrity (ΔΨm) ↓ ΔΨm Driver Mitochondrial dysfunction (MOMP axis) Primary leukemia/cancer study reports disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential after TQ exposure (mitochondrial events central to TQ-mediated death) (ref)
4 Intrinsic apoptosis (caspase-9 → caspase-3; PARP) ↑ caspases / ↑ apoptosis Driver Execution-phase cell death Same primary paper reports activation of caspases (8/9/3) with mitochondrial involvement—core evidence for apoptosis as the major outcome pathway (ref)
5 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activity Secondary Reduced pro-survival / inflammatory transcription Colon cancer work: TQ induces cell death and chemosensitizes cells by inhibiting NF-κB signaling (explicit pathway-direction support) (ref)
6 STAT3 signaling ↓ p-STAT3 / ↓ STAT3 activation Secondary Reduced survival/proliferation signaling Gastric cancer study explicitly reports TQ suppresses constitutive STAT3 activation and related signaling readouts (ref)
7 NRF2 antioxidant-response axis (NRF2/HO-1 program) ↑ NRF2 pathway (often as stress-response) Adaptive Cellular antioxidant counter-response In TNBC context, a primary study reports TQ upregulates NRF2 (and evaluates downstream immune/checkpoint consequences), consistent with NRF2 acting as an adaptive response to redox stress (ref)
8 HIF-1α hypoxia signaling ↓ HIF-1α protein / ↓ HIF-1α program Adaptive Loss of hypoxia survival signaling Renal cancer hypoxia paper identifies TQ as suppressing HIF-1α and links this to selective killing under hypoxia (ref)
9 Glycolysis / Warburg output (hypoxia-linked) ↓ glycolysis (↓ HIF-1α–mediated glycolytic genes; ↓ glycolytic metabolism) Phenotypic Metabolic suppression In hypoxic renal cancer, TQ suppresses HIF-1α–mediated glycolysis; in CRC, TQ inhibits glycolytic metabolism alongside tumor growth limitation (ref)  |  (ref)


Apoptosis, Apoptosis: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type: type of cell death
Situation in which a cell actively pursues a course toward death upon receiving certain stimuli.
Cancer is one of the scenarios where too little apoptosis occurs, resulting in malignant cells that will not die.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3409- TQ,    Thymoquinone therapy remediates elevated brain tissue inflammatory mediators induced by chronic administration of food preservatives
- in-vivo, Nor, NA
*MDA↓, *TGF-β↓, *CRP↓, *NF-kB↓, *TNF-α↓, *IL1β↓, *Casp3↓, *GSH↑, *NRF2↑, *IL10↑, *neuroP↑, *ROS↓, *Apoptosis↓, *Inflam↓,
3413- TQ,    Thymoquinone induces apoptosis in human colon cancer HCT116 cells through inactivation of STAT3 by blocking JAK2- and Src‑mediated phosphorylation of EGF receptor tyrosine kinase
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116
tumCV↓, Apoptosis↓, BAX↑, Bcl-2↓, Casp9↑, Casp7↑, Casp3↑, cl‑PARP↑, STAT3↓, survivin↓, cMyc↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, p27↑, P21↑, EGFR↓, ROS↑,
3420- TQ,    Thymoquinone alleviates the accumulation of ROS and pyroptosis and promotes perforator skin flap survival through SIRT1/NF-κB pathway
- in-vitro, Nor, HUVECs - in-vitro, NA, NA
*NF-kB↓, *NLRP3↓, *angioG↑, *MMP9↑, *VEGF↑, *OS↑, *Pyro?, *ROS↓, *Apoptosis↓, *SIRT1↑, *SOD1↑, *HO-1↑, *eNOS↑, *ASC?, *Casp1↓, *IL1β↓, *IL18↓,
4173- TQ,    Thymoquinone Can Improve Neuronal Survival and Promote Neurogenesis in Rat Hippocampal Neurons
- in-vivo, NA, NA
*neuroP↑, *Casp3↓, *Apoptosis↓, *ERK↑, *JNK↑, *CREB↑, *iNOS↑, *BDNF∅,
2097- TQ,    Crude extract of Nigella sativa inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, HeLa
Cyt‑c↑, Bax:Bcl2↑, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, Casp8↑, cl‑PARP↑, cMyc↓, hTERT/TERT↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, CDK4↓, P53↑, P21↑, TumCP↓, Apoptosis↓, selectivity↑,
2109- TQ,    Thymoquinone Induces Mitochondria-Mediated Apoptosis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in Vitro
- in-vitro, AML, CEM
Apoptosis↓, Bcl-2↓, BAX↑, ROS↑, HSP70/HSPA5↑, Casp3↑, Casp8↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 6 of 6

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 6

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↑, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 2,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↓, 3,   BAX↑, 2,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Casp3↑, 3,   Casp7↑, 1,   Casp8↑, 2,   Casp9↑, 2,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 1,   p27↑, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

tumCV↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

HSP70/HSPA5↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 2,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK4↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 2,   P21↑, 2,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

STAT3↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

TumCP↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

EGFR↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

EGFR↓, 1,   hTERT/TERT↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 27

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GSH↑, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   MDA↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 2,   SOD1↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

CREB↑, 1,   SIRT1↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↓, 3,   Casp1↓, 1,   Casp3↓, 2,   iNOS↑, 1,   JNK↑, 1,   Pyro?, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

ERK↑, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

MMP9↑, 1,   TGF-β↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↑, 1,   eNOS↑, 1,   VEGF↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

ASC?, 1,   CRP↓, 1,   IL10↑, 1,   IL18↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 2,   Inflam↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 2,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission ⓘ

BDNF∅, 1,  

Protein Aggregation ⓘ

NLRP3↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

CRP↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

neuroP↑, 2,   OS↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 33

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Apoptosis, Apoptosis
6 Thymoquinone
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#:162  Target#:14  State#:%  Dir#:1
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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