Category Archives: Cancer

Assessment of Cannabinoids Agonist and Antagonist in Invasion Potential of K562 Cancer Cells

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“The prominent hallmark of malignancies is the metastatic spread of cancer cells. Recent studies have reported that the nature of invasive cells could be changed after this phenomenon, causing chemotherapy resistance.

It has been demonstrated that the up-regulated expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2/MMP-9, as a metastasis biomarker, can fortify the metastatic potential of leukemia.

Furthermore, investigations have confirmed the inhibitory effect of cannabinoid and endocannabinoid on the proliferation of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Our findings clarifies that CB1 receptors are responsible for anti-invasive effects in the K562 cell line.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29883990

The importance of 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors in cancer treatment.

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Cancer and Metastasis Reviews

“Cancer-targeted therapy is an expanding and successful approach in treatment of many types of cancers. One of the main categories of targeted therapy is use of small molecule inhibitors. 15-Lipoxygenase (15-LOX) is an enzyme which reacts with polyunsaturated fatty acids and produces metabolites that are implicated in many important human diseases, such as cancer.

Considering the role of 15-LOX (mainly 15-LOX-1) in the progression of some cancers, the discovery of 15-LOX inhibitors could potentially lead to development of novel cancer therapeutics and it can be claimed that 15-LOX inhibitors might be suitable as chemotherapy agents in the near future.

This article reviews relevant publications on 15-LOX inhibitors with focus on their anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. Many 15-LOX inhibitors have been reported for which separate studies have shown their anticancer activities. This review paves the way to further explore the mechanism of their antiproliferative effects via 15-LOX inhibition.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29882120
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10555-018-9738-9

“Cannabidiol-2′,6′-Dimethyl Ether, a Cannabidiol Derivative, Is a Highly Potent and Selective 15-Lipoxygenase Inhibitor”  http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/37/8/1733.long

“Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and its major metabolite Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-11-oic acid as 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20891010

Anti-Tumorigenic Properties of Omega-3 Endocannabinoid Epoxides.

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Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

“Accumulating studies have linked inflammation to tumor progression.

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to suppress tumor growth through their conversion to epoxide metabolites. Alternatively, DHA is converted enzymatically into docosahexaenoylethanolamide (DHEA), an endocannabinoid with anti-proliferative activity.

Recently, we reported a novel class of anti-inflammatory DHEA-epoxides (EDP-EAs) that contain both ethanolamide and epoxide moieties. Herein we evaluate the anti-tumorigenic properties of EDP-EAs in an osteosarcoma model.

First, we show ~80% increase in EDP-EAs in metastatic lungs versus normal mouse lungs. We found significant differences in the apoptotic and anti-migratory potency of the different EDP-EA regioisomers, which are partly mediated through cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1).

Furthermore, we synthesized derivatives of the most pro-apoptotic regioisomer. These derivatives had reduced hydrolytic susceptibility to fatty acid-amide hydrolase and increased CB1 binding.

Collectively, we report a novel class of EDP-EAs that exhibit anti-angiogenic, anti-tumorigenic and anti-migratory properties in osteosarcoma.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29856219

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00243

“Omega-3 Fatty Byproducts May Have Anticancer Effects.” https://scienceblog.com/502227/omega-3-fatty-byproducts-may-have-anticancer-effects/
“Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects, study shows” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-products-omega-fatty-acid-metabolism.html
“Omega-3-derived cannabinoid may stop cancer. New research suggests that the body’s natural pain-killer, the “endocannabinoid system,” may also have cancer-fighting properties when “activated” by omega-3 fatty acids.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322482.php
“Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180713220137.htm

Medical Oncologists’ Beliefs, Practices, and Knowledge Regarding Marijuana Used Therapeutically: A Nationally Representative Survey Study

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Journal of Clinical Oncology

“Although almost every state medical marijuana (MM) law identifies cancer as a qualifying condition, little research supports MM’s use in oncology. We hypothesized that the discrepancy between these laws and the scientific evidence base poses clinical challenges for oncologists. Oncologists’ beliefs, knowledge, and practices regarding MM were examined in this study.

Methods

In November 2016, we mailed a survey on MM to a nationally-representative, random sample of 400 medical oncologists. Main outcome measures included whether oncologists reported discussing MM with patients, recommended MM clinically in the past year, or felt sufficiently informed to make such recommendations. The survey also queried oncologists’ views on MM’s comparative effectiveness for several conditions (including its use as an adjunct to standard pain management strategies) and its risks compared with prescription opioids. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using standard statistical techniques.

Results

The overall response rate was 63%. Whereas only 30% of oncologists felt sufficiently informed to make recommendations regarding MM, 80% conducted discussions about MM with patients, and 46% recommended MM clinically. Sixty-seven percent viewed it as a helpful adjunct to standard pain management strategies, and 65% thought MM is equally or more effective than standard treatments for anorexia and cachexia.

Conclusion

Our findings identify a concerning discrepancy between oncologists’ self-reported knowledge base and their beliefs and practices regarding MM. Although 70% of oncologists do not feel equipped to make clinical recommendations regarding MM, the vast majority conduct discussions with patients about MM and nearly one-half do, in fact, recommend it clinically. A majority believes MM is useful for certain indications. These findings are clinically important and suggest critical gaps in research, medical education, and policy regarding MM.”

http://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2017.76.1221

“Survey: Oncologists Believe Medical Marijuana to be Equally or More Effective Than Conventional Cancer Treatments”  http://www.thedailychronic.net/2018/90645/survey-oncologists-believe-medical-cannabis-equally-effective-conventional-treatments/

The role of lipid signaling in the progression of malignant melanoma.

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Cancer and Metastasis Reviews

“In the past decades, a vast amount of data accumulated on the role of lipid signaling pathways in the progression of malignant melanoma, the most metastatic/aggressive human cancer type. Genomic studies identified that PTEN loss is the leading factor behind the activation of the PI3K-signaling pathway in melanoma, mutations of which are one of the main resistance mechanisms behind target therapy failures. On the other hand, illegitimate expressions of megakaryocytic genes p12-lipoxyganse, cyclooxygenase-2, and phosphodiestherase-2/autotaxin (ATX) are mostly involved in the regulation of motility signaling in melanoma through various G-protein-coupled bioactive lipid receptors. Furthermore, endocannabinoid signaling can also be a novel paracrine survival factor in melanoma. Last but not least, prenylation inhibitors acting even on mutated small GTP-ases, such as NRAS of melanoma may offer novel therapeutic opportunities. As regards melanoma, the most effective therapy nowadays is immunotherapy, with the resistance mechanisms also possibly involving the lipid signaling activities of melanoma cells, which further supports the idea of their being therapeutic targets.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29808460
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10555-018-9729-x

∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis by targeting matrix metalloproteinase-9 in endometrial cancer.

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“Limited therapeutic interventions are clinically available for treating aggressive endometrial cancer (EC). Therefore, effective therapies are urgently required.

Therefore, the present study investigated the role of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is reported to impact proliferative and migratory activities during impairment of cancer progression.

In the present study, cell migration in response to THC was measured using transwell assays. Using western blot analysis, the levels of cannabinoid receptors in EC tissues were detected and pathways leading to the inhibition of cell migration by THC on human EC cells were determined.

Results suggested that cannabinoid receptors were highly expressed in EC tissues.

Furthermore, THC inhibited EC cell viability and motility by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and downregulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) gene expression in aggressive human EC cells.

The results have the potential to promote the development of novel compounds for the treatment of EC metastasis. The present findings suggest that THC may inhibit human EC cell migration through regulating EMT and MMP-9 pathways.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29805589

https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/ol.2018.8407

Involvement of the CB2 cannabinoid receptor in cell growth inhibition and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest via the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2 in renal cell carcinoma.

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“The anti-tumor properties of cannabinoids have been investigated in many in vitro and in vivo studies. Many of these anti-tumor effects are mediated via cannabinoid receptor types 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2), comprising the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

In this study, we investigated the ECS based on CB 1 and CB 2 receptor gene and protein expression in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. In view of their further use for potential treatments, we thus investigated the roles of CB1 and CB2 receptors in the anti-proliferative action and signal transduction triggered by synthetic cannabinoid agonists [such as JWH-133 and WIN 55,212-2 (WIN-55)] in RCC cell lines.

RESULTS:

The CB1 and CB2 genes expression was shown by real-time PCR and flow cytometric and western blot analysis indicating a higher level of CB2 receptor as compared to CB1 in RCC cells. Immunocytochemical staining also confirmed the expression of the CB1 and CB2 proteins. We also found that the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN-55 exerted anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects by inhibiting the growth of RCC cell lines, while the CB2 agonist JWH-133 did not. Pharmacologically blocking the CB1 and CB2 receptors with their respective antagonists SR141716A and AM-630, followed by the WIN-55 treatment of RCC cells allowed uncovering the involvement of CB2, which led to an arrest in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle and apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study elucidated the involvement of CB2 in the in vitro inhibition of RCC cells, and future applications of CB2agonists in the prevention and management of RCC are discussed.

In summary, our study shows the involvement of CB2 receptor in the in vitro inhibition of RCC cells. This knowledge will be useful to unravel the future applications of CB2receptor and its agonists in the prevention and management of RCC.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29792186
https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-018-4496-1

Cannabis for the Management of Cancer Symptoms: THC Version 2.0?

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“The landscape of medical cannabis is rapidly expanding. Cannabis preparations have been used in medicine for millennia, and now there is a strong renaissance in the study of their therapeutic properties.

The vast majority of controlled clinical trials that support the medical use of what is commonly known as “cannabis” or “marijuana” have actually been conducted with purified cannabinoids or a single extract of Cannabis sativa that contains an equimolecular proportion of Δ9-THC and CBD.

Based on these studies, THC/dronabinol (Marinol) and its synthetic analogue nabilone (Cesamet), as well as nabiximols (Sativex), are already approved by several regulatory agencies, including FDA, Health Canada, and EMA, as antiemetic, anticachexic, analgesic, or antispastic medicines.

This study provides a precious piece of information on the use of medical cannabis for the management of cancer symptoms.”

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2018.0009

Anandamide Revisited: How Cholesterol and Ceramides Control Receptor-Dependent and Receptor-Independent Signal Transmission Pathways of a Lipid Neurotransmitter.

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“Anandamide is a lipid neurotransmitter derived from arachidonic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid.

The chemical differences between anandamide and arachidonic acid result in a slightly enhanced solubility in water and absence of an ionisable group for the neurotransmitter compared with the fatty acid. In this review, we first analyze the conformational flexibility of anandamide in aqueous and membrane phases. We next study the interaction of the neurotransmitter with membrane lipids and discuss the molecular basis of the unexpected selectivity of anandamide for cholesterol and ceramide from among other membrane lipids.

We show that cholesterol behaves as a binding partner for anandamide, and that following an initial interaction mediated by the establishment of a hydrogen bond, anandamide is attracted towards the membrane interior, where it forms a molecular complex with cholesterol after a functional conformation adaptation to the apolar membrane milieu.

The complex is then directed to the anandamide cannabinoid receptor (CB1) which displays a high affinity binding pocket for anandamide. We propose that cholesterol may regulate the entry and exit of anandamide in and out of CB1 by interacting with low affinity cholesterol recognition sites (CARC and CRAC) located in transmembrane helices.

The mirror topology of cholesterol binding sites in the seventh transmembrane domain is consistent with the delivery, extraction and flip-flop of anandamide through a coordinated cholesterol-dependent mechanism. The binding of anandamide to ceramide illustrates another key function of membrane lipids which may occur independently of protein receptors.

Interestingly, ceramide forms a tight complex with anandamide which blocks the degradation pathway of both lipids and could be exploited for anti-cancer therapies.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789479
http://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/8/2/31

“The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC20983/

“The endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide, induces cell death in colorectal carcinoma cells: a possible role for cyclooxygenase 2”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1774787/

Novel therapeutic applications of cannabinoids in cancer disease

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oatext

“The present review shows that cannabinoids exert their anti-cancer effects in a number of ways and in a variety of tissues.

The endocannabinoid system is an almost ubiquitous signalling system involved in the control of cell fate. Recent studies have investigated the possibility that drugs targeting the endocannabinoid system might be used to retard or block cancer growth.

The endocannabinoids have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell signalling pathways. Therefore, the present review indicated that cannabinoids exert their anti-cancer effects in a number of ways and in a variety of tissues.

  • Triggering cell death, through a mechanism called apoptosis
  • Stopping cells from dividing
  • Preventing new blood vessels from growing into tumours
  • Reducing the chances of cancer cells spreading through the body, by stopping cells from moving or invading neighbouring tissue
  • Speeding up the cell’s internal ‘waste disposal machine’ – a process known as autophagy – which can lead to cell death

Furthermore, the novel therapeutic application of cannabinoids in cancer disease, described here, strongly support the idea that cannabinoids may induce benefical effect in cancer treatment.”

http://www.oatext.com/novel-therapeutic-applications-of-cannabinoids-in-cancer-disease.php