ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2012
Shikonin directly targets mitochondria and causes mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acute myeloid leukemia mitochondria hydrolyze ATP to support oxidative metabolism and resist chemotherapy.Science advances · 2025Article
- Ferroptosis: a novel pharmacological mechanism against multiple myeloma.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Comparative small molecule screening of primary human acute leukemias, engineered human leukemia and leukemia cell lines.Leukemia · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Significance ofFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Evaluation ofJournal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2024Article
- Natural Compounds Oridonin and Shikonin Exhibit Potentially Beneficial Regulatory Effects on Select Functions of Microglia.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Shikonin ameliorates salivary gland damage and inflammation in a mouse model of Sjögren's syndrome by modulating MAPK signaling pathway.The Korean journal of physiology & pharmacology : official journal of the Korean Physiological Society and the Korean Society of Pharmacology · 2023Article
- Natural Plant-Derived Compounds in Food and Cosmetics: A Paradigm of Shikonin and Its Derivatives.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The anti-leukemia activity and mechanisms of shikonin: a mini review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Review
- Promising Nanomedicines of Shikonin for Cancer Therapy.International journal of nanomedicine · 2023Review
- Article
- Review of Shikonin and Derivatives: Isolation, Chemistry, Biosynthesis, Pharmacology and Toxicology.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- TEM1-targeting PEGylated PLGA shikonin nanoformulation for immunomodulation and eradication of ovarian cancer.BioImpacts : BI · 2022Article
- Polyurethane Foam Rafts Supported In Vitro Cultures ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Shikonin Reduces Growth of Docetaxel-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells Mainly through Necroptosis.Cancers · 2021Article
- The compound 2-benzylthio-5,8-dimethoxynaphthalene-1,4-dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras-mutated liver cancer cells.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2020Article
- Participation of MicroRNAs in the Treatment of Cancer with Phytochemicals.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitors using self-assembled monolayer desorption ionization mass spectrometry.Antiviral research · 2020Article
- Melatonin sensitises shikonin-induced cancer cell death mediated by oxidative stress via inhibition of the SIRT3/SOD2-AKT pathway.Redox biology · 2020Article
- Simultaneous polychromatic flow cytometric detection of multiple forms of regulated cell death.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Chemotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment. Due to increased drug resistance and the severe side effects of currently used therapeutics, new candidate compounds are required for improvement of therapy success. Shikonin, a natural naphthoquinone, was used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of different inflammatory diseases and recent studies revealed the anticancer activities of shikonin. We found that shikonin has strong cytotoxic effects on 15 cancer cell lines, including multidrug-resistant cell lines. Transcriptome-wide mRNA expression studies showed that shikonin induced genetic pathways regulating cell cycle, mitochondrial function, levels of reactive oxygen species, and cytoskeletal formation. Taking advantage of the inherent fluorescence of shikonin, we analyzed its uptake and distribution in live cells with high spatial and temporal resolution using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Shikonin was specifically accumulated in the mitochondria, and this accumulation was associated with a shikonin-dependent deregulation of cellular Ca(2+) and ROS levels. This deregulation led to a breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential, dysfunction of microtubules, cell-cycle arrest, and ultimately induction of apoptosis. Seeing as both the metabolism and the structure of mitochondria show marked differences between cancer cells and normal cells, shikonin is a promising candidate for the next generation of chemotherapy.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.