Database Query Results : Curcumin, , GRP78/BiP

CUR, Curcumin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Tumeric. Member of the ginger family.Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Has iron-chelating, iron-chelating properties. Ferritin. But still known to increase Iron in Cancer cells.
- GSH depletion in cancer cells, exhaustion of the antioxidant defense system. But still raises GSH↑ in normal cells.
- Higher concentrations (5-10 μM) of curcumin induce autophagy and ROS production
- Inhibition of TrxR, shifting the enzyme from an antioxidant to a prooxidant
- Strong inhibitor of Glo-I, , causes depletion of cellular ATP and GSH
- Curcumin has been found to act as an activator of Nrf2, (maybe bad in cancer cells?), hence could be combined with Nrf2 knockdown
-may suppress CSC: suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Clinical studies testing curcumin in cancer patients have used a range of dosages, often between 500 mg and 8 g per day; however, many studies note that doses on the lower end may not achieve sufficient plasma concentrations for a therapeutic anticancer effect in humans.
• Formulations designed to improve curcumin absorption (like curcumin combined with piperine, nanoparticle formulations, or liposomal curcumin) are often employed in clinical trials to enhance its bioavailability.

-Note half-life 6 hrs.
BioAv is poor, use piperine or other enhancers
Pathways:
- induce ROS production at high concentration. Lowers ROS at lower concentrations
curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant when blue light is applied
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
but conversely is known as a NRF2↑ activator in cancer
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, n-myc↓, sox2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR**,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells Label Primary Interpretation Notes
1 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Driver Suppression of survival and inflammatory transcription NF-κB is a primary, repeatedly validated curcumin target explaining pleiotropic downstream effects
2 STAT3 signaling ↓ STAT3 phosphorylation / activity ↔ or mild suppression Driver Loss of pro-survival and proliferative signaling STAT3 inhibition contributes to growth arrest, apoptosis sensitization, and reduced cytokine signaling in tumors
3 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose- & context-dependent) ↓ ROS / buffered Conditional Driver Biphasic redox modulation Curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant in cancer cells with high basal stress while acting antioxidant in normal cells
4 Mitochondrial integrity / intrinsic apoptosis ↓ ΔΨm; ↑ caspase activation ↔ preserved Driver Execution of intrinsic apoptosis Mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation occur downstream of NF-κB/STAT3 and ROS effects
5 PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis ↓ AKT / ↓ mTOR ↔ or adaptive suppression Secondary Reduced growth and anabolic signaling AKT/mTOR inhibition contributes to growth suppression and autophagy induction in cancer cells
6 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (protective or pro-death) ↑ adaptive autophagy Secondary Stress adaptation vs cell death Autophagy may be cytoprotective or cooperate with apoptosis depending on context and dose
7 HIF-1α / VEGF hypoxia–angiogenesis axis ↓ HIF-1α; ↓ VEGF ↔ minimal effect Secondary Anti-angiogenic pressure Suppression of hypoxia-driven transcription limits angiogenesis and tumor adaptation
8 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G2/M or G1 arrest ↔ largely spared Phenotypic Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest reflects upstream signaling and epigenetic effects rather than direct CDK inhibition
9 Migration / invasion (EMT, MMP axis) ↓ migration & invasion Phenotypic Anti-metastatic phenotype Reduced EMT markers and protease activity limit invasive behavior
10 Epigenetic regulation (p300/CBP HAT activity) ↓ histone acetylation ↔ modest Secondary Transcriptional reprogramming Curcumin modulates chromatin via HAT inhibition rather than classic HDAC inhibition


GRP78/BiP, HSPA5: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
GRP78 (Pgp, BiP or ERp72) is a central regulator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function due to its roles in protein folding and assembly, targeting misfolded protein for degradation, ER Ca(2+)-binding and controlling the activation of trans-membrane ER stress sensors.
-GRP78 protein, a marker for endoplasmic reticulum stress
-GRP78’s role as a master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR) and cellular stress responses
The association of P-gp and inhibition of cell death in cancerous cells has also been reported in several studies including in hepatocellular, colorectal, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer. Although counterintuitive due to its prominent role in cancer resistance, P-gp has been linked to favorable prognosis.
ERp72 can promote cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating various signaling pathways, including the PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK pathways. Additionally, ERp72 can also inhibit apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, which can contribute to tumor progression. Overexpressed in: Breast, lung colorectal, prostrate, ovarian, pancreatic.

-GRP78 is frequently upregulated in a variety of solid tumors and hematological malignancies.
-Overexpression of GRP78 in cancer cells is often regarded as a marker of increased ER stress due to the reduced oxygen and nutrient supply typically encountered in the tumor microenvironment.
-Elevated GRP78 levels can contribute to tumor cell survival by enhancing the adaptive UPR, allowing cancer cells to cope with therapeutic and metabolic stress.



Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
2635- Api,  CUR,    Synergistic Effect of Apigenin and Curcumin on Apoptosis, Paraptosis and Autophagy-related Cell Death in HeLa Cells
- in-vitro, Cerv, HeLa
TumCD↑, Treatment with a combination of apigenin and curcumin increased the expression levels of genes related to cell death in HeLa cells 1.29- to 27.6-fold.
eff↑, combination of curcumin and apigenin showed a synergistic anti-tumor effect
TumAuto↑, autophagic cell death, as well as ER stress-associated paraptosis
ER Stress↑,
Paraptosis↑,
GRP78/BiP↓, GRP78 expression was down-regulated, and massive cytoplasmic vacuolization was observed in HeLa cells
Dose↝, combined use of 0.09 μg/μl curcumin and 0.06 μg/μl apigenin showed a synergistic anti-tumor effect

132- CUR,    Targeting multiple pro-apoptotic signaling pathways with curcumin in prostate cancer cells
- in-vitro, Pca, PC3
TumCCA↑, inducing a chronic ER stress mediated cell death and activation of cell cycle arrest, UPR, autophagy and oxidative stress responses.
ROS↑, correlating with the upregulation of reactive oxygen species
TumAuto↑,
UPR↑, The upregulation of eIF2α in curcumin-treated cells, suggests activation of the UPR-associated PERK pathway
ER Stress↑,
Casp3↑, Chronic ER stress induction was concomitant with the upregulation of pro-apoptotic markers (caspases 3,9,12) and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase.
Casp9↑,
Casp12↑,
PARP↑,
other↝, Curcumin-treated PC3 cells expressed 146 upregulated and 184 downregulated proteins when compared with control PC3 cells (treated with DMSO).
GRP78/BiP↑, GRP78 and the PDI family were upregulated by 1.69 and ≥1.25-fold respectively
PDI↑,
eIF2α↑, other upregulated proteins related to ER stress figure eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2A (EIF2A), with a significant fold change of 1.25,
other↝, downregulated antioxidant markers such as peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) and protein DJ-1 (PARK7) with significant fold changes of –1.39 and –1.51, respectively

143- CUR,    Nonautophagic cytoplasmic vacuolation death induction in human PC-3M prostate cancer by curcumin through reactive oxygen species -mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress
- in-vitro, Pca, LNCaP - in-vitro, Pca, DU145 - in-vitro, Pca, PC3
ER Stress↑, curcumin treatment upregulated the ER stress markers CHOP and Bip/GRP78 and the autophagic marker LC3-II.
CHOP↑,
GRP78/BiP↑,
ROS↑, curcumin induced ER stress by triggering ROS generation
LC3II↑,
eff↓, treating cells with the antioxidant NAC alleviated curcumin-mediated ER stress and vacuolation-mediated death.
tumCV↓, Curcumin treatment results in reduced cell viability and altered morphology of prostate cancer cells


* 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↑, 2,  

Cell Death

Casp12↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 1,   Casp9↑, 1,   Paraptosis↑, 1,   TumCD↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

other↝, 2,   tumCV↓, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress

CHOP↑, 1,   eIF2α↑, 1,   ER Stress↑, 3,   GRP78/BiP↓, 1,   GRP78/BiP↑, 2,   UPR↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes

LC3II↑, 1,   TumAuto↑, 2,  

DNA Damage & Repair

PARP↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

TumCCA↑, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature

PDI↑, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

Dose↝, 1,   eff↓, 1,   eff↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 22

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Total Targets: 0

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: GRP78/BiP, HSPA5
3 Curcumin
1 Apigenin (mainly Parsley)
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#:65  Target#:356  State#:%  Dir#:%
wNotes=on sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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