Cannabinoid receptors in mantle cell lymphoma

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“Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a non-curable B cell lymphoma that in several independent studies have been shown to express higher levels of CB1 and CB2 than non-malignant B cells.

The endocannabinoid system is dysregulated in many types of cancer and is involved in the regulation of survival and proliferation of cancer cells and cancer stem cells, in cancer metabolism, as well as in pro-metastatic events such as angiogenesis, migration and invasion.

Previous in vitro studies of MCL cell lines and primary ex vivo isolated tumor cells have demonstrated that high concentrations of cannabinoid receptor ligands induced proliferation arrest and programmed cell death.

All together, the data suggest that perturbations in the endocannabinoid system participate in the regulation of multi-functional cell responses regarding proliferation, migration and cell death control.

Therefore, it can be concluded that further studies on pharmacological modulation of endocannabinoid accumulation and/or signaling offers an interesting option for novel anti-lymphoma therapy.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4353235/