Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Conditional Knockdown of Gene Expression in Cancer Cell Lines to Study the Recruitment of Monocytes/Macrophages to the Tumor Microenvironment
10:59

Conditional Knockdown of Gene Expression in Cancer Cell Lines to Study the Recruitment of Monocytes/Macrophages to the Tumor Microenvironment

Published on: November 23, 2017

12.5K

Doxycycline Attenuates Cancer Cell Growth by Suppressing NLRP3-Mediated Inflammation

Mohammad Alsaadi1, Gulcin Tezcan1,2, Ekaterina E Garanina1

  • 1Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, 420008 Kazan, Russia.

Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 28, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Doxycycline inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome formation and reduces cancer cell proliferation. This study shows doxycycline induces apoptosis, offering a potential therapeutic strategy against cancer progression.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • NLRP3 inflammasome activation, triggered by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, plays a role in inflammation.
  • Doxycycline's anti-inflammatory properties are known, but its impact on NLRP3 in cancer is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of doxycycline on NLRP3 inflammasome regulation in prostate and lung cancer cell lines.
  • To determine if doxycycline influences cancer cell viability and progression.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized prostate cancer (PC3) and lung cancer (A549) cell lines with activated NLRP3.
  • Assessed NLRP3, Pro-CASP-1, and Pro-IL1β expression via RT-qPCR, Western blot, and ELISA.
  • Evaluated tumor cell viability, apoptosis, and cytokine secretion.

Main Results:

  • Doxycycline significantly decreased NLRP3 formation in both cancer cell lines (p < 0.05).
  • Doxycycline reduced cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, distinct from pyroptosis.
  • Doxycycline inhibited LPS-induced priming of NLRP3 inflammasome.

Conclusions:

  • Doxycycline demonstrates inhibitory effects on NLRP3 inflammasome activation in cancer cells.
  • Doxycycline may reduce tumor progression by promoting early apoptosis, suggesting a potential therapeutic role.
Keywords:
apoptosiscancerdoxycyclineinflammasomenod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)

More Related Videos

Using Mouse Mammary Tumor Cells to Teach Core Biology Concepts: A Simple Lab Module10:39

Using Mouse Mammary Tumor Cells to Teach Core Biology Concepts: A Simple Lab Module

Published on: June 18, 2015

13.4K
Synthesis and Characterization of an Aspirin-fumarate Prodrug that Inhibits NF&#954;B Activity and Breast Cancer Stem Cells13:38

Synthesis and Characterization of an Aspirin-fumarate Prodrug that Inhibits NFκB Activity and Breast Cancer Stem Cells

Published on: January 18, 2017

12.4K

Related Concept Videos

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway01:31

The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway

Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
7.1K
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
5.0K
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs01:15

Receptor Downregulation in MVBs

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that  lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR  stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive  EGFR...
2.3K
Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules01:15

Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules

Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo cycles of catastrophe and rescue. The microtubules play a central role in cell division by forming the spindle apparatus for segregating the chromosomes. This makes them ideal targets for regulating dividing cells in tumors and malignant cancer cells. Microtubule stabilizing drugs help stabilize the microtubule formation and promote its polymerization. Paclitaxel was the first microtubule stabilizing agent used as anticancer drug in chemotherapy...
2.2K
Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the...
4.7K
NF-&#954;B-dependent Signaling Pathway02:26

NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway

The transcription factor NF-κB was discovered in 1986 in the lab of Nobel laureate Professor David Baltimore, for its interaction with the immunoglobulin light chain enhancer in B-cells. After more than three decades of study, it is now evident that NF-κB regulates the expression of over 100 genes. Most of these genes play an essential role in the innate and adaptive immune responses as well as the inflammatory responses of animals.
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The...
7.9K