doxorubicin / Casp3 Cancer Research Results

doxoR, doxorubicin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Doxorubicin, (brand name Adriamycin) is a chemotherapy medication used to treat breast cancer, bladder cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, lymphoma, and acute lymphocytic leukemia. Often used together with other chemotherapy agents. Given by injection into a vein.
Doxorubicin is an anthracycline chemotherapy whose core anticancer activity is driven by DNA intercalation and topoisomerase II poisoning (DNA double-strand break stress), with additional contributions from redox cycling/iron-linked oxidative injury in some contexts. Its major clinical limitations are myelosuppression and cumulative dose–dependent cardiomyopathy, plus severe tissue injury if extravasated (leaks outside the vein).
-Cumulative cardiomyopathy risk is real and dose-dependent; labels note higher risk at higher cumulative doses (often cited around >550 mg/m², with lower limits in higher-risk patients).
-Mechanism split: tumor kill is primarily Topo II + DNA damage, while cardiotoxicity is strongly linked to TOP2β/mitochondrial pathways (redox/iron biology remains discussed, but not the only story).
-Administration hazard: extravasation can cause severe local injury;

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer / Tumor Context Normal Tissue Context TSF Primary Effect Notes / Interpretation
1 Topoisomerase II poisoning (DNA double-strand break stress) Topo II–DNA cleavage complexes ↑ → DNA breaks ↑ → apoptosis/senescence ↑ (context) Also affects normal proliferating tissues (marrow, mucosa) P, R Core cytotoxic mechanism Primary anticancer mechanism: stabilization of Topo II–DNA cleavage complexes blocks repair and drives lethal DNA damage responses.
2 DNA intercalation → replication/transcription disruption DNA/RNA synthesis ↓; replication stress ↑ Off-target in normal dividing cells P, R Replication/transcription blockade Intercalation contributes to replication fork stress and complements Topo II poisoning.
3 Redox cycling / iron-associated oxidative injury (context-dependent) ROS / oxidative damage ↑ (reported; model-dependent) Oxidative injury risk in sensitive tissues (esp. heart) ↑ P, R, G Stress amplification Often described as semiquinone redox cycling and iron interactions; the relative importance vs Topo II varies by tissue/model.
4 Cardiotoxicity axis (TOP2β + mitochondrial injury; cumulative-dose dependent) — Risk of cardiomyopathy/heart failure ↑ with cumulative exposure R, G Major dose-limiting toxicity Clinically important boxed-warning toxicity; risk increases with cumulative dose (labels cite higher risk above ~550 mg/m²; higher-risk patients often use lower limits).
5 Myelosuppression (bone marrow progenitors) — Neutropenia/anemia/thrombocytopenia risk ↑ R, G Dose-limiting toxicity Expected on-target effect in rapidly dividing marrow cells; infection risk increases when neutrophils are low.
6 p53 / DNA-damage response programs DDR signaling ↑; p53 pathway engagement ↑ (context) DDR activation in normal tissues contributes to toxicity R, G Cell fate commitment Downstream of DNA breaks: checkpoint activation, apoptosis, senescence, or mitotic catastrophe depending on genotype and dose.
7 Immunogenic cell death signals (DAMP exposure; context-dependent) Potential ICD features ↑ (reported in some systems) — G Immune engagement (conditional) Anthracyclines are often discussed as capable of immunogenic cell death in certain settings; not universal across regimens.
8 Extravasation tissue injury (local) — Severe local tissue damage risk if IV leakage occurs P, R Administration hazard Boxed warning emphasizes severe tissue injury with extravasation; requires strict IV administration controls.
9 Secondary malignancy risk (therapy-related AML/MDS; exposure-dependent) — Rare long-term risk signal ↑ — Late toxicity constraint Listed in boxed warnings/labels as a potential late effect, especially with combination regimens.
10 Cardioprotection strategy (dexrazoxane; selected settings) — Cardiotoxicity risk ↓ (when used appropriately) R, G Risk mitigation Dexrazoxane is used to reduce anthracycline cardiotoxicity; mechanistic literature includes TOP2β-linked protection and other hypotheses.

Time-Scale Flag (TSF): P / R / G

  • P: 0–30 min (direct DNA/Topo interactions begin rapidly)
  • R: 30 min–3 hr (acute DNA-damage response + stress signaling)
  • G: >3 hr (gene programs, apoptosis/senescence, phenotype-level outcomes)
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⟱
591- Api,  doxoR,    Polyphenols act synergistically with doxorubicin and etoposide in leukaemia cell lines
- in-vitro, AML, Jurkat - in-vitro, AML, THP1
ATP↓, Casp3↑, γH2AX↑,
1363- Ash,  doxoR,    Withaferin A Synergizes the Therapeutic Effect of Doxorubicin through ROS-Mediated Autophagy in Ovarian Cancer
- in-vitro, Ovarian, A2780S - in-vitro, Ovarian, CaOV3 - in-vivo, NA, NA
ChemoSen↑, ROS↑, DNAdam↑, TumCCA↑, LC3B↑, TumCG↓, cl‑Casp3↑,
506- MF,  doxoR,    Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Stimulation Promotes Anti-cell Proliferative Activity in Doxorubicin-treated Mouse Osteosarcoma Cells
- in-vitro, OS, LM8
TumCP↓, p‑CHK1↓, Ca+2↑, Casp3↓, Casp7↓, p‑BAD↓, ChemoSen↑,
89- QC,  doxoR,    Quercetin reverses the doxorubicin resistance of prostate cancer cells by downregulating the expression of c-met
- in-vitro, Pca, PC3
PI3K/Akt↓, cMET↓, Casp3↑, Casp9↑, MMP↓, ChemoSen↑, ROS↑,
4504- SeNPs,  Chit,  FA,  doxoR,    pH-responsive selenium nanoparticles stabilized by folate-chitosan delivering doxorubicin for overcoming drug-resistant cancer cells
- in-vitro, Var, NA
ChemoSen↑, Apoptosis↑, Casp3↑, PARP↝,
1494- SFN,  doxoR,    Sulforaphane potentiates anticancer effects of doxorubicin and attenuates its cardiotoxicity in a breast cancer model
- in-vivo, BC, NA - in-vitro, BC, MCF-7 - in-vitro, Nor, MCF10
CardioT↓, *GSH↑, *ROS↓, *NRF2↑, NRF2∅, HDAC↓, DNMTs↓, Casp3↑, ER-α36↓, Remission↑, eff↑, ROS↑, selectivity?,

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 ⓘ

NRF2∅, 1,   ROS↑, 3,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

ATP↓, 1,   MMP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

PI3K/Akt↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↑, 1,   p‑BAD↓, 1,   Casp3↓, 1,   Casp3↑, 4,   cl‑Casp3↑, 1,   Casp7↓, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3B↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

p‑CHK1↓, 1,   DNAdam↑, 1,   DNMTs↓, 1,   PARP↝, 1,   γH2AX↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

TumCCA↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

cMET↓, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   TumCG↓, 1,  

Migration ⓘ

Ca+2↑, 1,   ER-α36↓, 1,   TumCP↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

ChemoSen↑, 4,   eff↑, 1,   selectivity?, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

CardioT↓, 1,   Remission↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 30

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

GSH↑, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 1,  
Total Targets: 3

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: Casp3, CPP32, Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3
6 doxorubicin
1 Apigenin (mainly Parsley)
1 Ashwagandha(Withaferin A)
1 Magnetic Fields
1 Quercetin
1 Selenium NanoParticles
1 chitosan
1 Folic Acid, Vit B9
1 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
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#:179  Target#:42  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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