ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2020
Inhibition of the STAT3 Signaling Pathway Contributes to the Anti-Melanoma Activities of Shikonin.
Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Zebrafish tumor xenograft models for drug-screening: a systematic review of methods for treatment assessment.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Shikonin as a Dietary Phytochemical with Multi-Target Anti-Cancer Activities: From Molecular Mechanisms to Translational Applications.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Isoliquiritigenin attenuates tumor progression and PD-L1 expression by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3 in melanoma.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Article
- Global Identification of Anti-Melanoma Cellular Targets by Photochemically Induced Coupling ofPharmaceutics · 2024Article
- Review
- Review
- Natural STAT3 Inhibitors for Cancer Treatment: A Comprehensive Literature Review.Recent patents on anti-cancer drug discovery · 2024Review
- Pharmacological Effects of Shikonin and Its Potential in Skin Repair: A Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- 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
- Application of Zebrafish as a Model for Anti-Cancer Activity Evaluation and Toxicity Testing of Natural Products.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Dexamethasone and OLT1177 Cooperate in the Reduction of Melanoma Growth by Inhibiting STAT3 Functions.Cells · 2023Article
- Efforts in Bioprospecting Research: A Survey of Novel Anticancer Phytochemicals Reported in the Last Decade.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Article
- Current understanding of epigenetics role in melanoma treatment and resistance.Cancer cell international · 2022Review
- Pharmacological and analytical aspects of alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives: An update from 2008 to 2022.Chinese herbal medicines · 2022Review
- Shikonin derivatives cause apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human chondrosarcoma cells via death receptors and MAPK regulation.BMC cancer · 2022Article
- Synergy between sublethal doses of shikonin and metformin fully inhibits breast cancer cell migration and reverses epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Molecular biology reports · 2022Article
- Review of Shikonin and Derivatives: Isolation, Chemistry, Biosynthesis, Pharmacology and Toxicology.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- Shikonin suppresses colon cancer cell growth and exerts synergistic effects by regulating ADAM17 and the IL‑6/STAT3 signaling pathway.International journal of oncology · 2021Article
- Differential microbial assemblages associated with shikonin-producing Borage species in two distinct soil types.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMalignant melanoma is an extremely aggressive and metastatic cancer, and highly resistant to conventional therapies. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling promotes melanoma development and progression, which has been validated as an effective target in melanoma treatment. Natural naphthoquinone shikonin is reported to exert anti-melanoma effects. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the anti-melanoma activities of shikonin and explore the involvement of STAT3 signaling in these effects.
methodsZebrafish tumor model was established to evaluate the anti-human melanoma effects of shikonin
resultsShikonin suppressed melanoma growth in cultured cells and in zebrafish xenograft models. Shikonin induced melanoma cells apoptosis, inhibited cell migration and invasion. Mechanistic study indicated that shikonin inhibited the phosphorylation and homo-dimerization of STAT3, thus reduced its nuclear localization. Further study showed that shikonin decreased the levels of STAT3-targeted genes Mcl-1, Bcl-2, MMP-2, vimentin, and Twist, which are involved in melanoma survival, migration, and invasion. More importantly, overexpression of constitutively active STAT3 partially abolished the anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, and anti-invasive effects of shikonin.
conclusionThe anti-melanoma activity of shikonin is at least partially attributed to the inhibition on STAT3 signaling. These findings provide new insights into the anti-melanoma molecular mechanisms of shikonin, suggesting its potential in melanoma treatment.
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