Thymoquinone / IκB 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)


IκB, IκB kinase(α): Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
IκB (Inhibitor of Nuclear Factor kappa B) proteins are critical regulators of the NF-κB signaling pathway, which plays a significant role in inflammation, immune response, and cell survival.
IκB kinase/NF-κB (IKK/NF-κB) signaling pathways play critical roles in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. One function of NF-κB is promotion of cell survival through induction of target genes, whose products inhibit components of the apoptotic machinery in normal and cancerous cells.
NFKB inhibitor α (IκB‑α) acts as a negative regulator of the classical NF‑κB pathway through its ability to maintain the presence of NF‑κB in the cytoplasm.
IκB (Inhibitor of κB) proteins play a crucial role in regulating the NF-κB (Nuclear Factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) signaling pathway, which is involved in various cellular processes, including inflammation, immune response, and cell survival. The NF-κB pathway is tightly regulated, and its dysregulation has been implicated in the development and progression of various cancers.
In many cancers, the degradation of IκB is enhanced, leading to constitutive activation of NF-κB. This can promote tumor growth and survival by upregulating genes involved in cell proliferation and anti-apoptotic factors.

IκB proteins generally act as tumor suppressors by inhibiting NF-κB activity. When IκB is downregulated, NF-κB is activated, leading to increased cell proliferation, survival, and inflammation, which can promote tumor growth.

It is generally down regulated in cancers, with poorer prognosis.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2084- TQ,    Thymoquinone, as an anticancer molecule: from basic research to clinical investigation
- Review, Var, NA
*ROS↓, *chemoPv↑, ROS↑, ROS⇅, MUC4↓, selectivity↑, AR↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Bcl-2↓, Bcl-xL↓, survivin↓, Mcl-1↓, VEGF↓, cl‑PARP↑, ROS↑, HSP70/HSPA5↑, P53↑, miR-34a↑, Rac1↓, TumCCA↑, NOTCH↓, NF-kB↓, IκB↓, p‑p65↓, IAP1↓, IAP2↑, XIAP↓, TNF-α↓, COX2↓, Inflam↓, α-tubulin↓, Twist↓, EMT↓, mTOR↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, BioAv↓, ChemoSen↑, BioAv↑, PTEN↑, chemoPv↑, RadioS↑, *Half-Life↝, *BioAv↝,

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,   ROS⇅, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

XIAP↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Akt↓, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   IAP1↓, 1,   IAP2↑, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress

HSP70/HSPA5↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

EMT↓, 1,   miR-34a↑, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   NOTCH↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   PTEN↑, 1,  

Migration

MUC4↓, 1,   Rac1↓, 1,   Twist↓, 1,   α-tubulin↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

VEGF↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   IκB↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 1,   p‑p65↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors

AR↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↑, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 1,   RadioS↑, 1,   selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

AR↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

chemoPv↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 40

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↝, 1,   Half-Life↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

chemoPv↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: IκB, IκB kinase(α)
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#:161  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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