Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42744873›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Specific targeting of cancer cell mitochondria with a malaria drug improves pancreatic cancer outcome.

Yan Ou, Adrian Lim, Ruoxiang Wang, Nora Mir, Vinicius F Calsavara, Qiang Wang, Yi Zhang, Stephen J Pandol, Mouad Edderkaoui

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yan OuDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Adrian LimDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Ruoxiang WangDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Nora MirDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Vinicius F CalsavaraDepartment of Computational Biomedicine, Biostatistics Shared Resource, Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Qiang WangDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yi Zhang *Department of Biomedical Science, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Stephen J Pandol *Department of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Mouad EdderkaouiDepartment of Medicine, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. mouad.edderkaoui@cshs.org.ORCID 0000-0002-2549-8242

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy. In this paper, we present DZ-ART1, a first-in-class, dual-function therapeutic. This innovative agent is composed of a tumor-targeting heptamethine carbocyanine dye conjugated to artemisinin (ART). Near-infrared imaging demonstrated precise tumor localization of DZ-ART1 in mice. DZ-ART1 accumulated 5- to 10-fold more in cancer cells compared to normal cells. DZ-ART1 significantly decreased the survival of eight PDAC cell lines with little effect on normal cells. It increased the lethal effect of chemotherapies in vitro and in vivo. Functional assays confirmed DZ-ART1's ability to disrupt mitochondrial bioenergetics, deplete ATP, and induce reactive oxygen species production. Mitochondrial depletion of cancer cells decreased DZ-ART1 uptake and cytotoxicity, highlighting its mechanistically unique, mitochondria-dependent action. Transcriptomic profiling revealed DZ-ART1's broad reprogramming of PDAC pathways related to cell survival, cancer stemness, and metastasis. In three rigorously validated preclinical models - Kras

Indexed as

AntimalarialsAntineoplastic AgentsArtemisininsCarcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalMitochondriaPancreatic NeoplasmsAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell SurvivalHumansMiceReactive Oxygen SpeciesXenograft Model Antitumor AssaysAntimalarialsAntineoplastic AgentsartemisininArtemisininsReactive Oxygen SpeciesDZ-ARTMitochondriaPancreatic cancer

Identifiers

PMID42744873
PMCPMC13578251

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.