Shikonin / Casp3 Cancer Research Results

SK, Shikonin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
The (R)-enantiomer of alkannin is known as shikonin, and the racemic mixture of the two is known as shikalkin.
Shikonin is a naphthoquinone derivative primarily isolated from the roots of plants in the Boraginaceae family (e.g., Lithospermum erythrorhizon).
Shikonin is the main active component of a Chinese medicinal plant 'Zi Cao'
-Shikonin is a major component of zicao (purple gromwell, the dried root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon), a Chinese herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory properties
-Quinone methides (QMs) are highly reactive intermediates formed from natural compounds like shikonin
-ic50 cancer cells 1-10uM, normal cells >10uM

-known as Glycolysis inhibitor: ( inhibit pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2*******), a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway)

Available from mcsformulas.com Shikonin Pro Liposomal, 30 mg
Also In Glycolysis Inhibithree(100 mg PHLORIZIN,10 mg TANSHINONE IIA, 8 mg Shikonin)

-Note half-life15-30mins or 8hr?.
BioAv low, poor water solubility
Pathways:
- usually induce ROS production in cancer cells, and reduce ROS in normal cells.
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓,
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓, TrxR↓**, SOD↓, GSH↓ Catalase↓ GPx4↓
- 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↓, IGF-1↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, TGF-β↓, ERK↓
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, JNK, P53↑,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells
Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance
1 PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis (Warburg metabolism) ↓ Energy / biomass restriction Key, repeatedly reported mechanism: shikonin suppresses PKM2 activity and PKM2-driven glycolysis in multiple tumor models, with downstream growth inhibition and apoptosis
2 ROS accumulation / oxidative stress ↑ ROS Redox overload Common upstream trigger that drives mitochondrial dysfunction and regulated cell death programs; often precedes necroptosis/apoptosis signaling
3 Necroptosis core cascade (RIPK1 → RIPK3 → MLKL) ↑ Programmed necrotic cell death Strong evidence across cancers (e.g., leukemia and nasopharyngeal carcinoma): shikonin increases RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL expression/activation; necroptosis inhibitors can blunt the effect
4 Mitochondrial integrity (ΔΨm) ↓ Mitochondrial dysfunction ROS-linked depolarization; acts as a pivot into intrinsic apoptosis and other death programs
5 Intrinsic apoptosis (BAX/BAK → Caspase-9/3) ↑ Programmed cell death Frequently observed; often framed as ROS → mitochondrial damage → caspase-dependent apoptosis
6 PKM2/STAT3 signaling axis ↓ Reduced survival & proliferation signaling In ESCC and related models, shikonin suppresses PKM2-driven glycolysis and down-modulates STAT3 pathway activity
7 NF-κB pathway ↓ Reduced pro-survival transcription Reported as part of multi-target suppression of inflammatory/anti-apoptotic programs in several tumor models and reviews
8 PI3K–AKT (± mTOR) ↓ Growth & resistance pathway inhibition Often described as sensitizing cells to apoptosis/TRAIL; may be secondary to oxidative stress and metabolic collapse
9 Stress MAPKs (JNK / p38) ↑ Pro-death stress signaling Common downstream response to ROS; can reinforce apoptosis and other death outcomes
10 Ferroptosis-related axis (lipid peroxidation; GPX4) ↑ lipid perox / ↓ GPX4 Iron-dependent oxidative death Reported prominently for acetylshikonin (a shikonin derivative): ROS-associated lipid peroxidation with reduced GPX4 expression alongside RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL activation
11 Endoplasmic reticulum stress (UPR / ERS) ↑ Proteotoxic stress signaling Frequently mentioned in leukemia-focused mechanism summaries and broader reviews as contributory to growth arrest and death
12 Multiple regulated death programs (apoptosis / necroptosis / ferroptosis / pyroptosis) ↑ (context-dependent) Broader cell-death engagement Recent reviews emphasize that shikonin can engage several programmed cell death modalities depending on cell context and dosing
Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance Ref
1 PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis (Warburg metabolism) ↓ PKM2 activity / ↓ glycolysis Energy & biomass restriction Demonstrates shikonin (and analogs) inhibit cancer glycolysis, reducing glucose consumption/lactate production via PKM2 targeting (ref)
2 PKM2 → STAT3 signaling axis ↓ PKM2-driven signaling / ↓ STAT3 pathway Reduced survival & proliferation ESCC study: shikonin suppresses PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis and regulates PKM2/STAT3 signaling (ref)
3 Necroptosis (RIPK1 → RIPK3 → MLKL) ↑ RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL Programmed necrotic cell death Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: shikonin induces necroptosis with upregulation of RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL (with ROS involvement) (ref)
4 ROS accumulation ↑ ROS Oxidative stress trigger Colon cancer model: shikonin increases intracellular ROS; ROS functions upstream of apoptosis (ref)
5 Mitochondrial apoptosis (Caspase-9/3) ↑ Caspase-9/3 Programmed cell death Same colon cancer study shows shikonin increases caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity (mitochondria-mediated apoptosis) (ref)
6 ER stress / UPR (PERK → eIF2α → CHOP) ↑ Proteotoxic stress apoptosis signaling Colon cancer: shikonin-induced apoptosis mediated by PERK/eIF2α/CHOP ER-stress pathway (ref)
7 Autophagic flux (autophagosome–lysosome completion) ↓ autophagic flux (blocked) ROS + apoptosis amplification Colorectal cancer: shikonin induces ROS and apoptosis by inhibiting autophagic flux (ref)
8 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activity Reduced pro-survival transcription Pancreatic cancer xenograft/mechanistic study: shikonin suppresses NF-κB activity and NF-κB–regulated gene products (ref)
9 PI3K–AKT–mTOR (stemness / chemoresistance axis) ↓ PI3K/AKT/mTOR Reduced survival & stemness Chemoresistant lung cancer CSC context: shikonin attenuates PI3K–Akt–mTOR pathway and reduces cancer stemness (ref)
10 Cell cycle control (p21; G2/M arrest) ↑ p21 / ↑ G2/M arrest Proliferation block Gastric cancer (AGS): shikonin induces cell-cycle arrest linked to p21 regulation (ref)
11 Invasion / metastasis programs (NF-κB-linked) ↓ invasion Anti-invasive phenotype Reports shikonin inhibits tumor invasion via down-regulation of NF-κB–related mechanisms in a high-metastatic tumor model (ref)
12 Chemosensitization via glycolysis suppression ↓ glycolysis / ↑ cisplatin sensitivity Combination benefit NSCLC: shikonin inhibits glycolysis and sensitizes cells to cisplatin (explicitly connecting metabolic suppression to chemosensitization) (ref)


Casp3, CPP32, Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Also known as CP32.
Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3) is a common key protein in the apoptosis and pyroptosis pathways, and when activated, the expression level of tumor suppressor gene Gasdermin E (GSDME) determines the mechanism of tumor cell death.
As a key protein of apoptosis, caspase-3 can also cleave GSDME and induce pyroptosis. Loss of caspase activity is an important cause of tumor progression.
Many anticancer strategies rely on the promotion of apoptosis in cancer cells as a means to shrink tumors. Crucial for apoptotic function are executioner caspases, most notably caspase-3, that proteolyze a variety of proteins, inducing cell death. Paradoxically, overexpression of procaspase-3 (PC-3), the low-activity zymogen precursor to caspase-3, has been reported in a variety of cancer types. Until recently, this counterintuitive overexpression of a pro-apoptotic protein in cancer has been puzzling. Recent studies suggest subapoptotic caspase-3 activity may promote oncogenic transformation, a possible explanation for the enigmatic overexpression of PC-3. Herein, the overexpression of PC-3 in cancer and its mechanistic basis is reviewed; collectively, the data suggest the potential for exploitation of PC-3 overexpression with PC-3 activators as a targeted anticancer strategy.
Caspase 3 is the main effector caspase and has a key role in apoptosis. In many types of cancer, including breast, lung, and colon cancer, caspase-3 expression is reduced or absent.
On the other hand, some studies have shown that high levels of caspase-3 expression can be associated with a better prognosis in certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer. This suggests that caspase-3 may play a role in the elimination of cancer cells, and that therapies aimed at activating caspase-3 may be effective in treating certain types of cancer.
Procaspase-3 is a apoptotic marker protein.
Prognostic significance:
• High Cas3 expression: Associated with good prognosis and increased sensitivity to chemotherapy in breast, gastric, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
• Low Cas3 expression: Linked to poor prognosis and increased risk of recurrence in colorectal, hepatocellular carcinoma, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2232- SK,    Shikonin Induces Autophagy and Apoptosis in Esophageal Cancer EC9706 Cells by Regulating the AMPK/mTOR/ULK Axis
- in-vitro, ESCC, EC9706
tumCV↓, TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TumAuto↑, Apoptosis↑, Bcl-2↓, BAX↑, cl‑Casp3↑, cl‑Casp8↑, cl‑PARP↑, AMPK↑, mTOR↑, TumVol↓, OS↑, LC3I↑,
2355- SK,    Pharmacological properties and derivatives of shikonin-A review in recent years
- Review, Var, NA
AntiCan↑, TumCP↓, TumCMig↓, Apoptosis↑, TumAuto↑, Necroptosis↑, ROS↑, TrxR1↓, PKM2↓, RIP1↓, RIP3↓, Src↓, FAK↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, mTOR↓, GRP58↓, MMPs↓, ATF2↓, cl‑PARP↑, Casp3↑, p‑p38↑, p‑JNK↑, p‑ERK↓,
2231- SK,    Shikonin Exerts Cytotoxic Effects in Human Colon Cancers by Inducing Apoptotic Cell Death via the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Mitochondria-Mediated Pathways
- in-vitro, CRC, SNU-407
Apoptosis↑, ER Stress↑, PERK↑, eIF2α↑, CHOP↑, mt-Ca+2↑, MMP↓, Bcl-2↓, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, ERK↑, JNK↑, p38↓,
2229- SK,    Shikonin induces apoptosis and prosurvival autophagy in human melanoma A375 cells via ROS-mediated ER stress and p38 pathways
- in-vitro, Melanoma, A375
Apoptosis↑, TumAuto↑, TumCP↓, TumCCA↑, P21↑, cycD1/CCND1↓, ER Stress↑, p‑eIF2α↑, CHOP↑, cl‑Casp3↑, p38↑, LC3B-II↑, Beclin-1↑, ROS↑, eff↓,
2228- SK,    Shikonin induced Apoptosis Mediated by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Colorectal Cancer Cells
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116 - in-vitro, CRC, HCT15 - in-vivo, NA, NA
Apoptosis↑, Bcl-2↓, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, cl‑PARP↑, GRP78/BiP↑, PERK↑, eIF2α↑, ATF4↑, CHOP↑, JNK↑, eff↓, ER Stress↑, ROS↑, TumCG↓,
3044- SK,    Shikonin Inhibits Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer H1299 Cell Growth through Survivin Signaling Pathway
- in-vitro, Lung, H1299 - in-vitro, Lung, H460
TumCP↓, survivin↓, TumCCA↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, XIAP↓, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, cycD1/CCND1↓, cycE/CCNE↓,
5100- SK,    Shikonin-induced necroptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via ROS overproduction and upregulation of RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL expression
- vitro+vivo, NPC, NA
TumCP↓, RIP1↑, ROS↑, Necroptosis↑, Casp3↑, Casp8↑, eff↓, TumCG↓,
3047- SK,    Shikonin suppresses colon cancer cell growth and exerts synergistic effects by regulating ADAM17 and the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116 - in-vitro, CRC, SW48
TumCG↓, p‑STAT3↓, ADAM17↓, Apoptosis↑, Casp3↑, cl‑PARP↑, cycD1/CCND1↓, cycE/CCNE↓, TumCCA↑, JAK1?, p‑JAK1↓, p‑JAK2↓, p‑eIF2α↑, eff↓, ROS↑, IL6↓,
2219- SK,    Shikonin induces apoptosis of HaCaT cells via the mitochondrial, Erk and Akt pathways
- in-vitro, Nor, HaCaT
*MMP↓, *ROS↑, *Casp3↑, *TumCG↓,
3043- SK,    Shikonin Induces Apoptosis by Inhibiting Phosphorylation of IGF-1 Receptor in Myeloma Cells.
- in-vitro, Melanoma, RPMI-8226
IGF-1↓, Apoptosis↑, TumCCA↑, MMP↓, Casp3↑, P53↑, BAX↑, Mcl-1↓, EGFR↓, Src↑, KDR/FLK-1↓, p‑IGF-1↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓,
2188- SK,    Molecular mechanism of shikonin inhibiting tumor growth and potential application in cancer treatment
- Review, Var, NA
ROS↑, EGFR↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, angioG↓, Apoptosis↑, Necroptosis↑, GSH↓, Ca+2↓, MMP↓, ERK↓, p38↑, proCasp3↑, eff↓, VEGF↓, FOXO3↑, EGR1↑, SIRT1↑, RIP1↑, RIP3↑, BioAv↓, NF-kB↓, Half-Life↓,
1280- SK,    Shikonin Induces Apoptotic Cell Death via Regulation of p53 and Nrf2 in AGS Human Stomach Carcinoma Cells
- in-vitro, GC, AGS
ROS↑, Casp3↑, P53↑, NRF2↓,
2197- SK,    Shikonin derivatives for cancer prevention and therapy
- Review, Var, NA
ROS↑, Ca+2↑, BAX↑, Bcl-2↓, MMP9↓, NF-kB↓, PKM2↓, Hif1a↓, NRF2↓, P53↑, DNMT1↓, MDR1↓, COX2↓, VEGF↓, EMT↓, MMP7↓, MMP13↓, uPA↓, RIP1↑, RIP3↑, Casp3↑, Casp7↑, Casp9↑, P21↓, DFF45↓, TRAIL↑, PTEN↑, mTOR↓, AR↓, FAK↓, Src↓, Myc↓, RadioS↑,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 13 of 13

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 13

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GSH↓, 1,   NRF2↓, 2,   ROS↑, 8,   TrxR1↓, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

MMP↓, 3,   XIAP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

AMPK↑, 1,   PKM2↓, 2,   SIRT1↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 3,   Apoptosis↑, 8,   ATF2↓, 1,   BAX↑, 3,   Bcl-2↓, 4,   Casp3↑, 9,   cl‑Casp3↑, 2,   proCasp3↑, 1,   Casp7↑, 1,   Casp8↑, 1,   cl‑Casp8↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 4,   GRP58↓, 1,   JNK↑, 2,   p‑JNK↑, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 1,   Myc↓, 1,   Necroptosis↑, 3,   p38↓, 1,   p38↑, 2,   p‑p38↑, 1,   RIP1↓, 1,   RIP1↑, 3,   survivin↓, 1,   TRAIL↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

tumCV↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

CHOP↑, 3,   eIF2α↑, 2,   p‑eIF2α↑, 2,   ER Stress↑, 3,   GRP78/BiP↑, 1,   PERK↑, 2,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

Beclin-1↑, 1,   LC3B-II↑, 1,   LC3I↑, 1,   TumAuto↑, 3,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DFF45↓, 1,   DNMT1↓, 1,   P53↑, 3,   cl‑PARP↑, 4,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

CDK2↓, 1,   CDK4↓, 1,   cycD1/CCND1↓, 3,   cycE/CCNE↓, 2,   P21↓, 1,   P21↑, 1,   TumCCA↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 3,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

EMT↓, 1,   ERK↓, 1,   ERK↑, 1,   p‑ERK↓, 1,   FOXO3↑, 1,   IGF-1↓, 1,   p‑IGF-1↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 2,   mTOR↑, 1,   PI3K↓, 3,   PTEN↑, 1,   Src↓, 2,   Src↑, 1,   p‑STAT3↓, 1,   TumCG↓, 3,  

Migration ⓘ

Ca+2↓, 1,   Ca+2↑, 1,   mt-Ca+2↑, 1,   FAK↓, 2,   MMP13↓, 1,   MMP7↓, 1,   MMP9↓, 1,   MMPs↓, 1,   RIP3↓, 1,   RIP3↑, 2,   TumCI↓, 1,   TumCMig↓, 2,   TumCP↓, 4,   uPA↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 1,   ATF4↑, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   EGR1↑, 1,   Hif1a↓, 1,   KDR/FLK-1↓, 1,   VEGF↓, 2,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 1,   JAK1?, 1,   p‑JAK1↓, 1,   p‑JAK2↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 2,  

Cellular Microenvironment ⓘ

ADAM17↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

AR↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   eff↓, 5,   Half-Life↓, 1,   MDR1↓, 1,   RadioS↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AR↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   IL6↓, 1,   Myc↓, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   OS↑, 1,   TumVol↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 113

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

MMP↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Casp3↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

TumCG↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Casp3, CPP32, Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3
13 Shikonin
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#:150  Target#:42  State#:%  Dir#:2
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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