ArticleMolecular and cellular biochemistry2014
Thymoquinone suppression of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth involves inhibition of IL-8 expression, elevated levels of TRAIL receptors, oxidative stress and apoptosis.
Article in Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Induction of Apoptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Lines by Thymoquinone.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Exploratory Analysis of the Effects of Thymoquinone Alone and in Combination with 5-Fluorouracil on Inflammatory Mediators in Colorectal Cancer Cells: An In Vitro and In Silico Study.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Thymoquinone as a Multi-Target Modulator of Inflammatory and Immunometabolic Signaling: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Review
- Targeting Cancer Through Thymoquinone: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Prospects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The spatiotemporal heterogeneity of reactive oxygen species in the malignant transformation of viral hepatitis to hepatocellular carcinoma: a new insight.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2025Review
- Anticancer potential of Thymoquinone from Nigella sativa L.: An in-silico and cytotoxicity study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Potential anticancer properties and mechanisms of thymoquinone in colorectal cancer.Cancer cell international · 2023Review
- Thymoquinone, a Novel Multi-Strike Inhibitor of Pro-Tumorigenic Breast Cancer (BC) Markers: CALR, NLRP3 Pathway and sPD-L1 in PBMCs of HR+ and TNBC Patients.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways of black cumin (Nigella sativa) and its active constituent, thymoquinone: a review.Molecular biology reports · 2023Review
- Thymoquinone, piperine, and sorafenib combinations attenuate liver and breast cancers progression: epigenetic and molecular docking approaches.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Article
- Crosstalk of TNF-α, IFN-γ, NF-kB, STAT1 and redox signaling in lipopolysaccharide/d-galactosamine/dimethylsulfoxide-induced fulminant hepatic failure in mice.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Article
- Thymoquinone Suppresses Angiogenesis in DEN-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Targeting miR-1-3p.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Thymoquinone Plus Immunotherapy in Extra-Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: Case Series for a Novel Combination.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Article
- Antioxidant, Anti-Proliferative Activity and Chemical Fingerprinting ofAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Anticancer and Anti-Metastatic Role of Thymoquinone: Regulation of Oncogenic Signaling Cascades by Thymoquinone.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Role of Plant-Derived Active Constituents in Cancer Treatment and Their Mechanisms of Action.Cells · 2022Review
- Potential anticancer properties and mechanisms of thymoquinone in osteosarcoma and bone metastasis.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2022Review
- Natural Products for Cancer Therapy: A Review of Their Mechanism of Actions and Toxicity in the Past Decade.Journal of tropical medicine · 2022Review
- Curcumin, thymoquinone, and 3, 3'-diindolylmethane combinations attenuate lung and liver cancers progression.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Targeting microRNAs with thymoquinone: a new approach for cancer therapy.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common solid tumor worldwide. The chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) is overexpressed in HCC and is a potential target for therapy. Although the transcription factor NF-κB regulates IL-8 expression, and while thymoquinone (TQ; the most bioactive constituent of black seed oil) inhibits NF-κB activity, the precise mechanisms by which TQ regulates IL-8 and cancer cell growth remain to be clarified. Here, we report that TQ inhibited growth of HCC cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, caused G2M cell cycle arrest, and stimulated apoptosis. Apoptosis was substantiated by activation of caspase-3 and -9, as well as cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase. TQ treatments inhibited expression of NF-κB and suppressed IL-8 and its receptors. TQ treatments caused increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mRNAs of oxidative stress-related genes, NQO1 and HO-1. Pretreatment of HepG2 cells with N-acetylcysteine, a scavenger of ROS, prevented TQ-induced cell death. TQ treatment stimulated mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic Bcl-xS and TRAIL death receptors, and inhibited expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. TQ enhanced TRAIL-induced death of HepG2 cells, in part by up-regulating TRAIL death receptors, inhibiting NF-κB and IL-8 and stimulating apoptosis. Altogether, these findings provide insights into the pleiotropic molecular mechanisms of TQ-dependent suppression of HCC cell growth and underscore potential of this compound as anti-HCC drug.
Indexed as
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.