“A new study reveals that the liver’s cannabinoid receptors could be targeted to fight liver cancer in some patients; and it offers a way to predict what treatments have the best chance of working.
The body’s own marijuana-like substances, — called endocannabinoids — are known to increase the biosynthesis of fatty acids in the liver by activating cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1). CB1 receptors can be found in the brain, lungs, liver and kidney, and they are involved in a number of physiological processes, including mood, appetite, pain sensation and memory.
The study found that the expression of these receptors increased in cancerous liver samples, when compared with cancer-free samples. This suggests that drugs that block CB1 receptors may be effective against HCC.
“Although such drugs were found to cause unwanted psychiatric side effects, non brain-penetrant CB1 receptor antagonists devoid of such side effects — but retaining therapeutic efficacy via peripheral CB1 receptors — are currently being developed,” says study co-author George Kunos, scientific director at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).”