Phenylbutyrate / PFK1 Cancer Research Results

PB, Phenylbutyrate: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Used to treat urea cycle disorders
Sodium phenylbutyrate helps remove ammonia from the body.
-Phenyl-butyrate (PB)4 is an aromatic fatty acid that is converted in vivo to phenylacetate (PA) by β-oxidation in liver and kidney mitochondria.
-In human body, phenylbutyrate is oxidized to phenylacetate, which is in turn conjugated with glutamine and eliminated in urine as phenylacetylglutamine, thereby mediating elimination of waste nitrogen
-Phenylbutyrate is one of the first drugs encountered in cancer therapy as a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) (relatively weak compared to vorinostat (SAHA), romidepsin, etc.).
-Butyric acid is one of the short-chain fatty acids produced by the gut microbiota through the fermentation of dietary fiber. Butyrate is primarily recognized for its beneficial effects in the colon and is tightly linked to gut health.
-Phenylbutyrate is a derivative of butyrate that has been chemically modified by the addition of a phenyl group. This structural change increases its lipophilicity (fat solubility) and alters its metabolic fate and biological activity. This allows it to be used as a systemic drug, in contrast to the locally produced butyrate in the gut, which is rapidly metabolized by colonocytes

Pathways:
-Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor
-ER stress inhibitor (at least in normal cell)
-Can act as a chemical chaperone, helping to reduce ER stress by facilitating proper protein folding.
-Modulation of NF-κB Signaling
-Changes in pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MAPK.
-Some preclinical investigations have reported that treatment with phenylbutyrate leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, both of which can result in an increase of ROS within cancer cells.

Note: Sodium butyrate (NaBu) vs Sodium phenylbutyrate
-Sodium butyrate is primarily a research tool with limited clinical application, whereas phenylbutyrate is used clinically
-Phenylbutyrate typically exhibits improved pharmacokinetics and is more amenable to systemic use compared to sodium butyrate.
-Both compounds act as HDAC inhibitors, phenylbutyrate additionally modulates ER stress and mitochondrial function, leading to potentially greater ROS production in certain cancer cells.

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Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Context Normal Tissue Context TSF Primary Effect Notes
1 Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition Histone acetylation ↑; p21 ↑; differentiation ↑; proliferation ↓ Gene-expression modulation R, G Epigenetic reprogramming Core anticancer mechanism; early-generation, relatively weak HDAC inhibitor.
2 Cell-cycle arrest G1 arrest ↑; Cyclin D1 ↓ (reported) ↔ G Cytostasis Common downstream effect of HDAC inhibition.
3 Apoptosis Caspase activation ↑ (reported; model-dependent) ↔ G Cell death execution Often secondary to transcriptional changes and stress modulation.
4 ER stress / Chemical chaperone activity Context-dependent: ER stress ↑ or ↓ ER stress ↓ (protein misfolding disorders) R, G Protein-folding modulation Acts as chemical chaperone; effect depends on cell type and dose.
5 NF-κB signaling NF-κB modulation (reported) Inflammatory tone modulation R, G Transcriptional regulation Likely secondary to epigenetic changes.
6 PI3K → AKT / MAPK pathways Survival pathway modulation (reported; model-dependent) ↔ R, G Growth signaling modulation Downstream transcriptional effects rather than primary kinase inhibition.
7 Mitochondrial stress / ROS ROS modulation (context-dependent) ↔ P, R, G Metabolic adaptation Not a primary ROS-inducing agent; effects vary by tumor model.
8 Urea-cycle nitrogen scavenging (approved indication) — Ammonia elimination ↑ (phenylacetylglutamine formation) — Clinical metabolic role Primary approved medical use.


PFK1, Phosphofructokinase-1: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1) is a key regulatory enzyme in glycolysis that catalyzes the conversion of fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.
– As a rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis, PFK1 is subject to complex regulation through allosteric effectors including ATP, AMP, and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate.
• Metabolic Control:
–PFK1 activity is central to controlling the pace of glycolysis, thereby influencing energy production and intermediary metabolite supply.
– In highly proliferative cells or cells under growth conditions, increased glycolytic flux (and, by extension, PFK1 activity) supports the biosynthetic demands of cell division.

– Many tumors (including breast, colorectal, and lung cancers) have been reported to have increased PFK1 expression/activity relative to normal tissues.
– High glycolytic flux, driven partly by enhanced PFK1, supports rapid cell proliferation and survival in the nutrient/stress-challenged tumor microenvironment.

Inhibitors:(typically glycolysis is targeted more broadly)
-Citrate
-Hydrogen ions (pH) – Acidic conditions can have inhibitory effects.
-3PO: inhibits PFKFB3, thereby indirectly reducing PFK1 activity.
-Resveratrol can downregulate glycolytic flux in cancer cells, which may indirectly affect PFK1 activity.
- FMDs offer an indirect strategy to modulate cancer metabolism by broadly reducing glycolysis. Their impact on PFK1 is likely part of a complex network of metabolic adaptations rather than a direct inhibitory effect.
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2421- PB,    Sodium butyrate inhibits aerobic glycolysis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via the c‐myc/hexokinase 2 pathway
- in-vitro, HCC, HCCLM3 - in-vivo, NA, NA - in-vitro, HCC, Bel-7402 - in-vitro, HCC, SMMC-7721 cell - in-vitro, Nor, L02
Glycolysis↓, Apoptosis↑, TumCP↓, lactateProd↓, GlucoseCon↓, HK2↓, ChemoSen↑, *toxicity↓, cMyc↓, PFK1↓, LDHA↓, cMyc↓, ChemoSen↑,

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:


Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

cMyc↓, 2,   GlucoseCon↓, 1,   Glycolysis↓, 1,   HK2↓, 1,   lactateProd↓, 1,   LDHA↓, 1,   PFK1↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↑, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

TumCP↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

ChemoSen↑, 2,  
Total Targets: 10

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Functional Outcomes ⓘ

toxicity↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 1

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: PFK1, Phosphofructokinase-1
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#:15  Target#:988  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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