“Introduction: Cannabis sativa is utilized mainly for palliative care worldwide. Ovarian cancer (OC) is a lethal gynecologic cancer. A particular cannabis extract fraction (‘F7’) and the Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP1) inhibitor niraparib act synergistically to promote OC cell apoptosis. Here we identified genetic pathways that are altered by the synergistic treatment in OC cell lines Caov3 and OVCAR3.
Materials and methods: Gene expression profiles were determined by RNA sequencing and quantitative PCR. Microscopy was used to determine actin arrangement, a scratch assay to determine cell migration and flow cytometry to determine apoptosis, cell cycle and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. Western blotting was used to determine protein levels.
Results: Gene expression results suggested variations in gene expression between the two cell lines examined. Multiple genetic pathways, including Hippo/Wnt, TGF-β/Activin and MAPK were enriched with genes differentially expressed by niraparib and/or F7 treatments in both cell lines. Niraparib + F7 treatment led to cell cycle arrest and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, inhibited cell migration, reduced the % of ALDH positive cells in the population and enhanced PARP1 cleavage.
Conclusion: The synergistic effect of the niraparib + F7 may result from the treatment affecting multiple genetic pathways involving cell death and reducing mesenchymal characteristics.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38322025/
“Cannabis sativa is utilized worldwide for palliative care and to alleviate various symptoms associated with medical conditions. Several dozen compounds are biosynthesized in the female inflorescence of each C. sativa strain. In total, around 600 different molecules can be found in cannabis, among them around 150 phytocannabinoids and hundreds of flavonoids and terpenes
Multiple studies suggest that phytocannabinoids have anti-cancer properties.
They inhibit several different features associated with cancer cells and tumors, including inhibiting cell proliferation and migration, inducing cell death, reducing angiogenesis, and inhibiting cancer cells’ invasiveness. This was demonstrated in several different cancer types, including cancers of the skin, lung, breast, prostate, and brain.
The best-studied anti-cancer activity is that of the most common phytocannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9–tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and related synthetic compounds (e.g., HU-210 and WIN-55 212-2).
Phytocannabinoids have been found to affect cancer cells and tumors via several different genetic pathways and molecular mechanisms. For example, several signal transduction pathways can be activated by phytocannabinoids to induce cancer cell death, including cell cycle arrest, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, oxidative stress, autophagy and/or apoptosis.”
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1333964/full