ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL

ABSTRACT Aim Artemisinins are a class of antimalarial drugs that are lately being researched for their antitumor activity. We previously reported that artesunate, an artemisinin derivative, can induce ferroptosis and enhance TRAIL (Tumor necrosis factor‐Related Apoptosis‐Inducing Ligand)‐induced apo...

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Main Authors: Snigdha Bhowmick, Yong J. Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:Cancer Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.71001
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author Snigdha Bhowmick
Yong J. Lee
author_facet Snigdha Bhowmick
Yong J. Lee
author_sort Snigdha Bhowmick
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Aim Artemisinins are a class of antimalarial drugs that are lately being researched for their antitumor activity. We previously reported that artesunate, an artemisinin derivative, can induce ferroptosis and enhance TRAIL (Tumor necrosis factor‐Related Apoptosis‐Inducing Ligand)‐induced apoptosis. Here we investigated the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by artemisinin and its derivatives, especially in the enhancement of TRAIL‐induced apoptosis, which can be exploited for repurposing the use of artemisinins in cancer therapy. Methods We show in this study a comparative profile of the ER stress induced by different derivatives of this drug, namely artemisinin, artesunate, arteether, artemether, and dihydroartemisinin, all of which are available readily and approved for treating human patients. These five derivatives were used to treat human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells and pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC3 cells over a range of doses. Results Our data show a highly significant positive correlation between ER stress caused by these drugs and their corresponding apoptotic susceptibilities upon treatment with TRAIL. Conclusion We concluded that dihydroartemisinin is the most effective contender among all the derivatives tested to enhance TRAIL‐induced apoptosis.
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spelling doaj-art-a00ede01d1024ec885abaa6bd0fb242f2025-08-20T03:30:20ZengWileyCancer Medicine2045-76342025-06-011412n/an/a10.1002/cam4.71001ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAILSnigdha Bhowmick0Yong J. Lee1Department of Biomedical Sciences Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles California USADepartment of Biomedical Sciences Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles California USAABSTRACT Aim Artemisinins are a class of antimalarial drugs that are lately being researched for their antitumor activity. We previously reported that artesunate, an artemisinin derivative, can induce ferroptosis and enhance TRAIL (Tumor necrosis factor‐Related Apoptosis‐Inducing Ligand)‐induced apoptosis. Here we investigated the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by artemisinin and its derivatives, especially in the enhancement of TRAIL‐induced apoptosis, which can be exploited for repurposing the use of artemisinins in cancer therapy. Methods We show in this study a comparative profile of the ER stress induced by different derivatives of this drug, namely artemisinin, artesunate, arteether, artemether, and dihydroartemisinin, all of which are available readily and approved for treating human patients. These five derivatives were used to treat human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells and pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC3 cells over a range of doses. Results Our data show a highly significant positive correlation between ER stress caused by these drugs and their corresponding apoptotic susceptibilities upon treatment with TRAIL. Conclusion We concluded that dihydroartemisinin is the most effective contender among all the derivatives tested to enhance TRAIL‐induced apoptosis.https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.71001apoptosisartemisininscytotoxicityER stressferroptosis
spellingShingle Snigdha Bhowmick
Yong J. Lee
ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
Cancer Medicine
apoptosis
artemisinins
cytotoxicity
ER stress
ferroptosis
title ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
title_full ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
title_fullStr ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
title_full_unstemmed ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
title_short ER Stress Induced by Artemisinin and Its Derivatives Determines the Susceptibility to Their Synergistic Apoptotic Killing With TRAIL
title_sort er stress induced by artemisinin and its derivatives determines the susceptibility to their synergistic apoptotic killing with trail
topic apoptosis
artemisinins
cytotoxicity
ER stress
ferroptosis
url https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.71001
work_keys_str_mv AT snigdhabhowmick erstressinducedbyartemisininanditsderivativesdeterminesthesusceptibilitytotheirsynergisticapoptotickillingwithtrail
AT yongjlee erstressinducedbyartemisininanditsderivativesdeterminesthesusceptibilitytotheirsynergisticapoptotickillingwithtrail