Monthly Archives: December 2015

The cross-talk between electrophiles, antioxidant defence and the endocannabinoid system in fibroblasts and keratinocytes after UVA and UVB irradiation.

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“UV, including UVA and UVB radiation, is one of the most ubiquitous environmental stress factors to human skin and leads to redox imbalance and, consequently, photoaging and cancer development. The aim of the study was to verify which skin cells, keratinocytes or fibroblasts, were more susceptible to UVA or UVB irradiation.

The results presented in this paper demonstrate a strong relationship between UV-induced oxidative stress and changes in the endocannabinoid system.

The differences demonstrated in the response of the tested cells to UV irradiation allow for a better understanding of the mechanisms occurring in the human skin, which may be exploited for future therapies in dermatology.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26674123

Cannabis for posttraumatic stress disorder: A neurobiological approach to treatment.

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“The endocannabinoid system is intricately involved in regulation of the neurobiological processes, which underlie the symptomatology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article discusses the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and the use of cannabis for treating PTSD in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program.”

GPR55 – a putative “type 3” cannabinoid receptor in inflammation.

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“G protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) shares numerous cannabinoid ligands with CB1 and CB2 receptors despite low homology with those classical cannabinoid receptors. The pharmacology of GPR55 is not yet fully elucidated; however, GPR55 utilizes a different signaling system and downstream cascade associated with the receptor.

Therefore, GPR55 has emerged as a putative “type 3″ cannabinoid receptor, establishing a novel class of cannabinoid receptor.

Furthermore, the recent evidence of GPR55-CB1 and GPR55-CB2 heteromerization along with its broad distribution from central nervous system to peripheries suggests the importance of GPR55 in various cellular processes and pathologies and as a potential therapeutic target in inflammation.”

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26669245

Cannabis ‘Can Reduce Tumour Growth’, Expert Says

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“He believes chemicals in cannabis could be anti-cancer agents”

Cannabis

“Marijuana is now used by cancer patients in some countries to ease the pain of their illness – but it might actually offer a cure.Guillermo Velasco of the Complutense University of Madrid says there is evidence that cannabinoids – chemicals in cannabis – actually reduced tumour growth in animals.But he says that there is little interest from pharmaceutical companies.

Velasco told Upworthy,, ‘One of the reasons why [it] is so complicated to promote clinical studies is that the active components of marijuana are natural products that cannot be patented and therefore there are few pharma companies interested in their clinical development.’

Earlier this year, the U.S. government admitted that the drug can shrink cancer cells in rodent studies.

In a page of official government advice, the U.S. government now says,, ‘Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory.’

The site says that the effect has so far been seen in rodent studies, and cautions,  ‘At this time, there is not enough evidence to recommend that patients inhale or ingest Cannabis as a treatment for cancer-related symptoms or side effects of cancer therapy.’’”  https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cannabis–can-reduce-tumour-growth—expert-says-120408138.html#pQEf8NO

Small Molecules from Nature Targeting G-Protein Coupled Cannabinoid Receptors: Potential Leads for Drug Discovery and Development.

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“The cannabinoid molecules are derived from Cannabis sativa plant which acts on the cannabinoid receptors types 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) which have been explored as potential therapeutic targets for drug discovery and development.

Currently, there are numerous cannabinoid based synthetic drugs used in clinical practice like the popular ones such as nabilone, dronabinol, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol mediates its action through CB1/CB2receptors.

In recent years, many phytocannabinoids have been isolated from plants other than Cannabis. Several studies have shown that these phytocannabinoids show affinity, potency, selectivity, and efficacy towards cannabinoid receptors and inhibit endocannabinoid metabolizing enzymes, thus reducing hyperactivity of endocannabinoid systems.

Also, these naturally derived molecules possess the least adverse effects opposed to the synthetically derived cannabinoids. Therefore, the plant based cannabinoid molecules proved to be promising and emerging therapeutic alternative.

The present review provides an overview of therapeutic potential of ligands and plants modulating cannabinoid receptors that may be of interest to pharmaceutical industry in search of new and safer drug discovery and development for future therapeutics.”

The therapeutic aspects of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) for cancer and their development: from nature to laboratory.

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“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a group of neuromodulatory lipids and their receptors, which are widely distributed in mammalian tissues. ECS regulates various cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system functions inside cells.

In recent years, there has been a growing body of evidence for the use of synthetic and natural cannabinoids as potential anticancer agents.

For instance, the CB1 and CB2 receptors are assumed to play an important role inside the endocannabinoid system. These receptors are abundantly expressed in the brain and fatty tissue of the human body.

Despite recent developments in molecular biology, there is still a lack of knowledge about the distribution of CB1 and CB2 receptors in the human kidney and their role in kidney cancer. To address this gap, we explore and demonstrate the role of the endocannabinoid system in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

In this brief overview, we elucidate the therapeutic aspects of the endocannabinoid system for various cancers and explain how this system can be used for treating kidney cancer.

Overall, this review provides new insights into cannabinoids’ mechanisms of action in both in vivo and in vitro models, and focuses on recent discoveries in the field.”

Differential physiological and behavioral cues observed in individuals smoking botanical marijuana versus synthetic cannabinoid drugs.

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“Synthetic cannabinoid use has increased in many states, and medicinal and/or recreational marijuana use has been legalized in some states. These changes present challenges to law enforcement drug recognition experts (DREs) who determine whether drivers are impaired by synthetic cannabinoids or marijuana, as well as to clinical toxicologists who care for patients with complications from synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana.

Our goal was to compare what effects synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana had on performance and behavior, including driving impairment, by reviewing records generated by law enforcement DREs who evaluated motorists arrested for impaired driving.

 Drivers under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids were more frequently impaired with confusion, disorientation, and incoherent, slurred speech than drivers under the influence of marijuana in this population evaluated by DREs.”

Determination of 11 Cannabinoids in Biomass and Extracts of Different Varieties of Cannabis Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

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“An HPLC single-laboratory validation was performed for the detection and quantification of the 11 major cannabinoids in most cannabis varieties, namely, cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabinol (CBN), Δ9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), Δ8- trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabichromene (CBC), and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (THCAA). The analysis was carried out on the biomass and extracts of these varieties. Methanol-chloroform (9:1, v/v) was used for extraction, 4-androstene-3,17-dione was used as the internal standard, and separation was achieved in 22.2 min on a C18 column using a two- step gradient elution. The method was validated for the 11 cannabinoids. The concentration-response relationship of the method indicated a linear relationship between the concentration and peak area with r2 values of >0.99 for all 11 cannabinoids. Method accuracy was determined through a spike study, and recovery ranged from 89.7 to 105.5% with an RSD of 0.19 to 6.32% for CBDA, CBD, THCV, CBN, Δ9-THC, CBL, CBC, and THCAA; recovery was 84.7, 84.2, and 67.7% for the minor constituents, CBGA, CBG, and Δ8-THC, respectively, with an RSD of 2.58 to 4.96%. The validated method is simple, sensitive, and reproducible and is therefore suitable for the detection and quantification of these cannabinoids in different types of cannabis plant materials.”

Development and Validation of a Reliable and Robust Method for the Analysis of Cannabinoids and Terpenes in Cannabis.

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“The requirements for an acceptable cannabis assay have changed dramatically over the years resulting in a large number of laboratories using a diverse array of analytical methodologies that have not been properly validated. Due to the lack of sufficiently validated methods, we conducted a single- laboratory validation study for the determination of cannabinoids and terpenes in a variety of commonly occurring cultivars. The procedure involves high- throughput homogenization to prepare sample extract, which is then profiled for cannabinoids and terpenes by HPLC-diode array detector and GC-flame ionization detector, respectively. Spike recovery studies for terpenes in the range of 0.03-1.5% were carried out with analytical standards, while recovery studies for Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, cannabidiolic acid, Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid, and cannabigerolic acid and their neutral counterparts in the range of 0.3-35% were carried out using cannabis extracts. In general, accuracy at all levels was within 5%, and RSDs were less than 3%. The interday and intraday repeatabilities of the procedure were evaluated with five different cultivars of varying chemotype, again resulting in acceptable RSDs. As an example of the application of this assay, it was used to illustrate the variability seen in cannabis coming from very advanced indoor cultivation operations.”

Effects of marijuana smoking on the lung.

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“…habitual use of marijuana alone does not appear to lead to significant abnormalities in lung function, except for possible increases in lung volumes… no clear link to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been established… findings from a limited number of well-designed epidemiological studies do not suggest an increased risk for the development of either lung or upper airway cancer from light or moderate use… In summary, the accumulated weight of evidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared with the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23802821