ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2025
Shikonin as a therapeutic agent in renal cell carcinoma: insights from TEK-related causal association with glaucoma.
Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a lethal malignancy with rising incidence, while glaucoma, a chronic eye disease, shares systemic mechanisms such as oxidative stress and inflammation with cancers. This study aimed to investigate the causal link between glaucoma and RCC and explore molecular intersections to identify novel therapeutic targets. Methods: A two-step Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genetic data from the NHGRI-EBI GWAS Catalog and FinnGen database was performed, supplemented by NHANES data. Gene expression analysis (GSE53757, E-MTAB-1980) identified glaucoma-related genes in RCC. Molecular docking and functional assays evaluated shikonin's effects on TEK and AKT/mTOR signaling. Results: MR revealed a significant causal relationship between glaucoma and RCC. TEK, a glaucoma-related gene, was downregulated in RCC tissues and correlated with advanced tumor stage and metastasis. Shikonin and acetylshikonin upregulated TEK expression, inhibited RCC cell proliferation/migration, and suppressed AKT/mTOR phosphorylation. Discussion: These findings support a role for glaucoma-associated genes in RCC development and progression, highlighting shikonin as a promising therapeutic agent targeting this molecular axis.
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.