Tag Archives: antitumor

Endocannabinoid system and anticancer properties of cannabinoids

Posted on by
Reply

Folia Biologica et Oecologica

“Cannabinoids impact human body by binding to cannabinoids receptors (CB1 and CB2).

The two main phytocannabinoids are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

THC interacts with CB1 receptors occurring in central nervous system and is responsible for psychoactive properties of marijuana. CBD has low affinity to CB1 receptor, has no psychoactive characteristics and its medical applications can be wider.

CB receptors are part of a complex machinery involved in regulation of many physiological processes – endocannabinoid system.

Cannabinoids have found some applications in palliative medicine, but there are many reports concerning their anticancer affects.

Agonists of CB1 receptors stimulate accumulation of ceramides in cancer cells, stress of endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress) and, in turn, apoptosis. Effects of cannabinoids showing low affinity to CB receptors is mediated probably by induction of reactive oxygen species production.

Knowledge of antitumor activity of cannabinoids is still based only on preclinical studies and there is a necessity to conduct more experiments to assess the real potential of these compounds.”

https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/fobio/12/1/article-p11.xml

INSIGHT ON THE IMPACT OF ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM IN CANCER: A REVIEW.

Posted on by
Reply

British Journal of Pharmacology banner

“In the last decades, the endocannabinoid system has attracted a great interest in medicine and cancer disease is probably one of its most promising therapeutic areas.

On the one hand, endocannabinoid system expression has been found altered in numerous types of tumours compared to healthy tissue, and this aberrant expression has been related to cancer prognosis and disease outcome, suggesting a role of this system in tumour growth and progression that depends on cancer type.

On the other hand, it has been reported that cannabinoids exert an anticancer activity by inhibiting the proliferation, migration and/or invasion of cancer cells; and also tumour angiogenesis.

The endocannabinoid system may be considered as a new therapeutic target, although further studies to fully establish the effect of cannabinoids on tumour progression remain necessary.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29663308

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bph.14331

Direct modulation of the outer mitochondrial membrane channel, voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) by cannabidiol: a novel mechanism for cannabinoid-induced cell death.

Posted on by
Reply

Logo of cddis

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive plant cannabinoid that inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell death of cancer cells and activated immune cells.

Here, we studied the effects of CBD on various mitochondrial functions in BV-2 microglial cells.

Our findings indicate that CBD treatment leads to a biphasic increase in intracellular calcium levels and to changes in mitochondrial function and morphology leading to cell death.

Single-channel recordings of the outer-mitochondrial membrane protein, the voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) functioning in cell energy, metabolic homeostasis and apoptosis revealed that CBD markedly decreases channel conductance.

Finally, using microscale thermophoresis, we showed a direct interaction between purified fluorescently labeled VDAC1 and CBD.

Thus, VDAC1 seems to serve as a novel mitochondrial target for CBD.

The inhibition of VDAC1 by CBD may be responsible for the immunosuppressive and anticancer effects of CBD.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24309936

“The non-psychoactive plant cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), alone has strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects in diverse animal models of disease such as diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition, CBD has been reported to have anxiolytic, antiemetic and antipsychotic effects. Moreover, CBD has been shown to possess antitumor activity in human breast carcinoma and to effectively reduce primary tumor mass, as well as size and number of lung metastasis in preclinical animal models of breast cancer.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877544/

“In summary, in this study we have identified VDAC1 as a new molecular target for CBD. Our study suggests that CBD-induced cell death may occur through the inhibition of VDAC1 conductance and that this interaction may be responsible for the anticancer and immunosuppressive properties of CBD.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/cddis2013471

“Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel 1 As an Emerging Drug Target for Novel Anti-CancerTherapeutics.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28824871

“Finally, small molecules targeting VDAC1 can induce apoptosis. VDAC1 can thus be considered as standing at the crossroads between mitochondrial metabolite transport and apoptosis and hence represents an emerging cancer drug target.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25448878

Targeting Cannabinoid Signaling in the Immune System: “High”-ly Exciting Questions, Possibilities, and Challenges.

Posted on by
Reply

Image result for frontiers in immunology

“It is well known that certain active ingredients of the plants of Cannabis genus, i.e., the “phytocannabinoids” [pCBs; e.g., (-)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), (-)-cannabidiol, etc.] can influence a wide array of biological processes, and the human body is able to produce endogenous analogs of these substances [“endocannabinoids” (eCB), e.g., arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), etc.].

These ligands, together with multiple receptors (e.g., CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, etc.), and a complex enzyme and transporter apparatus involved in the synthesis and degradation of the ligands constitute the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a recently emerging regulator of several physiological processes.

The ECS is widely expressed in the human body, including several members of the innate and adaptive immune system, where eCBs, as well as several pCBs were shown to deeply influence immune functions thereby regulating inflammation, autoimmunity, antitumor, as well as antipathogen immune responses, etc.

Based on this knowledge, many in vitro and in vivo studies aimed at exploiting the putative therapeutic potential of cannabinoid signaling in inflammation-accompanied diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis) or in organ transplantation, and to dissect the complex immunological effects of medical and “recreational” marijuana consumption.

Thus, the objective of the current article is (i) to summarize the most recent findings of the field; (ii) to highlight the putative therapeutic potential of targeting cannabinoid signaling; (iii) to identify open questions and key challenges; and (iv) to suggest promising future directions for cannabinoid-based drug development.”   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29176975

“Although, many open questions await to be answered, pharmacological modulation of the (endo)cannabinoid signaling, and restoration of the homeostatic eCB tone of the tissues augur to be very promising future directions in the management of several pathological inflammation-accompanied diseases.”   https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01487/full

The use of cannabidiol for seizure management in patients with brain tumor-related epilepsy.

Posted on by
Reply

 Publication Cover

“Epilepsy, commonly encountered by patients with brain tumors, is often refractory to standard therapies. Our aim was to examine the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical grade cannabidiol (CBD; Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals) in those patients with epilepsy with concomitant tumors enrolled in The University of Alabama at Birmingham CBD Program (NCT02700412 and NCT02695537). Of the three patients with refractory seizures and a history of a primary brain tumor, two had improvement in seizure frequency and all three had improvement in seizure severity. These pilot results suggest that CBD should be further studied for the treatment of brain tumor-related epilepsy.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29063814

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13554794.2017.1391294?journalCode=nncs20

Cannabis sativa Extract Reduces Cytoskeletal Associated Proteins in Breast Cancer Cell Line

Posted on by
Reply

Synergistic interaction of the cannabinoid and death receptor systems: A potential target for future cancer therapies?

Posted on by
Reply

FEBS Letters

“Cannabinoid receptors have been shown to interact with other receptors, including Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily (TNFRS) members, to induce cancer cell death. When cannabinoids and death-inducing ligands (including TRAIL) are administered together, they have been shown to synergize and demonstrate enhanced antitumor activity in vitro. Certain cannabinoid ligands have been shown to sensitize cancer cells and synergistically interact with members of the TNFRS, thus suggesting that the combination of cannabinoids with death receptor (DR) ligands induces additive or synergistic tumor cell death. This review summarizes recent findings on the interaction of the cannabinoid and DR systems and suggests possible clinical co-application of cannabinoids and DR ligands in the treatment of various malignancies.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28948607

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1873-3468.12863/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+on+Saturday+7th+Oct+from+03.00+EDT+%2F+08%3A00+BST+%2F+12%3A30+IST+%2F+15.00+SGT+to+08.00+EDT+%2F+13.00+BST+%2F+17%3A30+IST+%2F+20.00+SGT+and+Sunday+8th+Oct+from+03.00+EDT+%2F+08%3A00+BST+%2F+12%3A30+IST+%2F+15.00+SGT+to+06.00+EDT+%2F+11.00+BST+%2F+15%3A30+IST+%2F+18.00+SGT+for+essential+maintenance.+Apologies+for+the+inconvenience+caused+.

A Review of the Therapeutic Antitumor Potential of Cannabinoids.

Posted on by
Reply

:Image result for J Altern Complement Med.

“The aim of this review is to discuss cannabinoids from a preclinical and clinical oncological perspective and provide the audience with a concise, retrospective overview of the most significant findings concerning the potential use of cannabinoids in cancer treatment.

RESULTS:

Cannabis sativa is a plant rich in more than 100 types of cannabinoids. Besides exogenous plant cannabinoids, mammalian endocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoid analogues have been identified. Cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) have been isolated and characterized from mammalian cells. Through cannabinoid receptor and non-receptor signaling pathways, cannabinoids show specific cytotoxicity against tumor cells, while protecting healthy tissue from apoptosis. The dual antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of cannabinoids and associated signaling pathways have been investigated on a large panel of cancer cell lines. Cannabinoids also display potent anticancer activity against tumor xenografts, including tumors that express high resistance to standard chemotherapeutics. Few studies have investigated the possible synergistic effects of cannabinoids with standard oncology therapies, and are based on the preclinically confirmed concept of “cannabinoid sensitizers.” Also, clinical trials aimed to confirm the antineoplastic activity of cannabinoids have only been evaluated on a small number of subjects, with no consensus conclusions regarding their effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS:

A large number of cannabinoid compounds have been discovered, developed, and used to study the effects of cannabinoids on cancers in model systems. However, few clinical trials have been conducted on the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of cancers in humans. Further studies require extensive monitoring of the effects of cannabinoids alone or in combination with standard anticancer strategies. With such knowledge, cannabinoids could become a therapy of choice in contemporary oncology.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28799775

Compound found in cannabis helps ‘shrink’ four-year-old’s brain tumour

Posted on by
Reply

Four-year-old William Frost from Newark

“The family of a four-year-old boy from Nottinghamshire are backing new research into whether a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis can reduce paediatric brain cancer cells.

Experts from Nottingham’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, at The University of Nottingham, will test Cannabidiol (CBD) for its effects on paediatric brain tumours in youngsters. This research will form part of the pre-clinical phase of the evaluation of the potential use of cannabidiol in paediatric brain tumours” http://www.nottinghampost.com/compound-found-in-cannabis-helps-shrink-four-year-old-s-brain-tumour/story-30307458-detail/story.html

“Scientists plan study after Nottinghamshire boy’s tumour shrinks during cannabis compound treatment” https://nottstv.com/notts-scientists-treating-brain-tumours-with-cannabis-backed-by-four-year-old-boy-with-the-condition/
 
“Study looks at cannabis ingredient’s ability to help children’s tumours. UK research into cannabidiol (CBD) comes after surge in parents administering it to children without medical advice” https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/02/study-cannabis-cannabidiol-cbd-ability-to-help-children-brain-tumours

 “Little boy’s aggressive brain tumour shrinks thanks to CANNABIS compound, his parents claim” https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3472080/little-boys-aggressive-brain-tumour-shrinks-thanks-to-cannabis-his-parents-claimed/

“Little boy battling golf ball-sized brain tumour given new lease of life after being given a special OIL” http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/little-boy-battling-golf-ball-10347423

 “Four-year-old brain cancer patient sees tumour shrink – thanks to cannabis oil”  http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/03/four-year-old-brain-cancer-patient-sees-tumour-shrink-thanks-to-cannabis-oil-6613034/
Four-year-old William was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2014
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/brain-cancer/