ArticleEMBO molecular medicine2023
A whole-genome scan for Artemisinin cytotoxicity reveals a novel therapy for human brain tumors.
Article in EMBO molecular medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the Cerebral Organoid Landscape: A Systematic Review of Preclinical 3D Models in Neuroscience.Advanced healthcare materials · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of Artemisinin on the Pharmacokinetics of Cyclophosphamide and Its Metabolite in Mice and Its Potential Mechanisms.Biomedical chromatography : BMC · 2026Article
- Russian Dolls of Heme Metabolism in Malaria-Infected Red Blood Cells: Nested Vulnerabilities and Therapeutic Opportunities.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The Therapeutic Potential of Dihydroartemisinin in Cancer Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- 5-ALA does not potentiate dihydroartemisinin against Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Anticancer properties of Artemisia species: mechanisms and experimental evidence.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Heme as activator and target for artemisinin: Towards multiple pharmacological bioactivity.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Targeting Infected Host Cell Heme Metabolism to Kill Malaria Parasites.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- Organoid, organ-on-a-chip and traditional Chinese medicine.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- Research Progress in In Vitro Screening Techniques for Natural Antithrombotic Medicines.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Artemisiae Annuae Herba: from anti-malarial legacy to emerging anti-cancer potential.Theranostics · 2025Review
- Repurposing Artemisinin-Based Drugs from Antimalarial to Pan-Therapeutic: Pharmacological Promise and Therapeutic Challenges.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Review
- A reference for selecting an appropriate method for generating glioblastoma organoids from the application perspective.Discover oncology · 2024Review
- Anti-Cancer Effects of Artesunate in Human 3D Tumor Models of Different Complexity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- A whole-genome scan for Artemisinin cytotoxicity reveals a novel therapy for human brain tumors.EMBO molecular medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
22 authors at 9 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The natural compound Artemisinin is the most widely used antimalarial drug worldwide. Based on its cytotoxicity, it is also used for anticancer therapy. Artemisinin and its derivates are endoperoxides that damage proteins in eukaryotic cells; their definite mechanism of action and host cell targets, however, have remained largely elusive. Using yeast and haploid stem cell screening, we demonstrate that a single cellular pathway, namely porphyrin (heme) biosynthesis, is required for the cytotoxicity of Artemisinins. Genetic or pharmacological modulation of porphyrin production is sufficient to alter its cytotoxicity in eukaryotic cells. Using multiple model systems of human brain tumor development, such as cerebral glioblastoma organoids, and patient-derived tumor spheroids, we sensitize cancer cells to dihydroartemisinin using the clinically approved porphyrin enhancer and surgical fluorescence marker 5-aminolevulinic acid, 5-ALA. A combination treatment of Artemisinins and 5-ALA markedly and specifically killed brain tumor cells in all model systems tested, including orthotopic patient-derived xenografts in vivo. These data uncover the critical molecular pathway for Artemisinin cytotoxicity and a sensitization strategy to treat different brain tumors, including drug-resistant human glioblastomas.
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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.