Thymoquinone / NO 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">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)


NO, Nitric Oxide: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Once the cancer has begun, NO seems to play a protumoral role rather than antitumoral one as the concentration required to cause tumor cell cytotoxicity cannot be achieved by cancer cells.
The mechanistic roles of nitric oxide (NO) during cancer progression have been important considerations since its discovery as an endogenously generated free radical. Nonetheless, the impacts of this signaling molecule can be seemingly contradictory, being both pro-and antitumorigenic, which complicates the development of cancer treatments based on the modulation of NO fluxes in tumors. At a fundamental level, low levels of NO drive oncogenic pathways, immunosuppression, metastasis, and angiogenesis, while higher levels lead to apoptosis and reduced hypoxia and also sensitize tumors to conventional therapies. However, clinical outcome depends on the type and stage of the tumor as well as the tumor microenvironment.
Nitric oxide is generated by three main nitric oxide synthase isoforms: neuronal (nNOS), endothelial (eNOS), and inducible (iNOS).

– In many cancers, especially under inflammatory conditions, iNOS expression is upregulated. In contrast, eNOS levels may also be altered in cancers such as breast or prostate cancer.

• Expression Patterns in Tumors:
– Elevated iNOS expression is commonly observed in various tumor types (e.g., colon, breast, lung, and melanoma) and is often associated with an inflammatory microenvironment.

– Changes in eNOS and nNOS expression have also been reported and may contribute to angiogenesis and tumor blood flow regulation.


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3422- TQ,    Thymoquinone, as a Novel Therapeutic Candidate of Cancers
- Review, Var, NA
selectivity↑, P53↑, PTEN↑, NF-kB↓, PPARγ↓, cMyc↓, Casp↑, *BioAv↓, BioAv↝, eff↑, survivin↓, Bcl-xL↓, Bcl-2↓, Akt↓, BAX↑, cl‑PARP↑, CXCR4↓, MMP9↓, VEGFR2↓, Ki-67↓, COX2↓, JAK2↓, cSrc↓, Apoptosis↑, p‑STAT3↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, Casp3↑, Casp7↑, Casp9↑, N-cadherin↓, Vim↓, Twist↓, E-cadherin↑, ChemoSen↑, eff↑, EMT↓, ROS↑, DNMT1↓, eff↑, EZH2↓, hepatoP↑, Zeb1↓, RadioS↑, HDAC↓, HDAC1↓, HDAC2↓, HDAC3↓, *NAD↑, *SIRT1↑, SIRT1↓, *Inflam↓, *CRP↓, *TNF-α↓, *IL6↓, *IL1β↓, *eff↑, *MDA↓, *NO↓, *GSH↑, *SOD↑, *Catalase↑, *GPx↑, PI3K↓, mTOR↓,
3560- TQ,    Protective effects of thymoquinone on D-galactose and aluminum chloride induced neurotoxicity in rats: biochemical, histological and behavioral changes
- in-vivo, AD, NA
*cognitive↑, *SOD↑, *TAC↑, *AChE↓, *MDA↓, *NO↓, *TNF-α↓, *Bcl-2↑, *Ach↑, *neuroP↑,
3558- TQ,    Behavioral and histological study on the neuroprotective effect of thymoquinone on the cerebellum in AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity in rats through modulation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy
- in-vivo, AD, NA
*MDA↓, *NO↓, *GSH↑, *neuroP↑, *cognitive↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 3 of 3

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 3

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

cMyc↓, 1,   PPARγ↓, 1,   SIRT1↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 1,   BAX↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 1,   Bcl-xL↓, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 1,   Casp7↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,   survivin↓, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction

cSrc↓, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

EZH2↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

DNMT1↓, 1,   P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

EMT↓, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   HDAC1↓, 1,   HDAC2↓, 1,   HDAC3↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   PTEN↑, 1,   p‑STAT3↓, 1,  

Migration

E-cadherin↑, 1,   Ki-67↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   Twist↓, 1,   Vim↓, 1,   Zeb1↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

VEGFR2↓, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 1,   CXCR4↓, 1,   JAK2↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↝, 1,   ChemoSen↑, 1,   eff↑, 3,   RadioS↑, 1,   selectivity↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

EZH2↓, 1,   Ki-67↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

hepatoP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 49

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

Catalase↑, 1,   GPx↑, 1,   GSH↑, 2,   MDA↓, 3,   SOD↑, 2,   TAC↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

NAD↑, 1,   SIRT1↑, 1,  

Cell Death

Bcl-2↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

Ach↑, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

NO↓, 3,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

CRP↓, 1,   IL1β↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   TNF-α↓, 2,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission

AChE↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↓, 1,   eff↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

CRP↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

cognitive↑, 2,   neuroP↑, 2,  
Total Targets: 23

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: NO, Nitric Oxide
3 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#:563  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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