Tag Archives: antiproliferative

Monocyclic Quinone Structure-Activity Patterns: Synthesis of Catalytic Inhibitors of Topoisomerase II with Potent Antiproliferative Activity.

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Publication cover image“The monocyclic 1,4-benzoquinone, HU-331, the direct oxidation product of cannabidiol, inhibits the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II but without inducing DNA strand breaks or generating free radicals, and unlike many fused-ring quinones exhibits minimal cardiotoxicity. Thus, monocyclic quinones have potential as anticancer agents, and investigation of the structural origins of their biological activity is warranted. New syntheses of cannabidiol and (±)-HU-331 are here reported. Integrated synthetic protocols afforded a wide range of polysubstituted resorcinol derivatives; many of the corresponding novel 2-hydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone derivatives are potent inhibitors of the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II, some more so than HU-331, whose monoterpene unit replaced by a 3-cycloalkyl unit conferred increased antiproliferative properties in cell lines with IC50 values extending below 1 mM, and greater stability in solution than HU-331. The principal pharmacophore of quinones related to HU-331 was identified. Selected monocyclic quinones show potential for the development of new anticancer agents.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31778038

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cmdc.201900548

Endocannabinoid system and the expression of endogenous ceramides in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

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 Journal Cover“The endogenous lipid metabolism network is associated with the occurrence and progression of malignancies.

Endocannabinoids and ceramides have demonstrated their anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic properties in a series of cancer studies.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression patterns of endocannabinoids and endogenous ceramides in 67 pairs of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and non-cancerous counterpart controls.

Anandamide (AEA), the major endocannabinoid, was reduced in tumor tissues, probably due to the high expression and activity of fatty acid amide hydrolase. Another important endocannabinoid, 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), was elevated in tumor tissues compared with non-tumor controls, indicating that the biosynthesis of 2-AG is faster than the degradation of 2-AG in tumor cells.

Furthermore, western blot analysis demonstrated that cannabinoid receptor 1 was downregulated, while cannabinoid receptor 2 was elevated in HCC tissues, in accordance with the alterations in the levels of AEA and 2-AG, respectively. For HCC tissues, the expression levels of C18:0, 20:0 and 24:0-ceramides decreased significantly, whereas C12:0, 16:0, 18:1 and 24:1-ceramides were upregulated, which may be associated with cannabinoid receptor activation and stearoyl-CoA desaturase protein downregulation.

The exact role of endocannabinoids and ceramides in regulating the fate of HCC cells requires further investigation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31423220

https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/ol.2019.10399

Antiproliferative and antioxidant effect of polar hemp extracts (Cannabis sativa L., Fedora cv.) in human colorectal cell lines.

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Publication Cover “Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of polar extracts of edible resources from Fedora hemp cultivar (Cannabis sativa L.), namely seed, flour and oil, were evaluated. The main components in the polar extracts were identified using HPLC-DAD and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. As expected, the molecular profile of components from seeds and flour was strictly similar, dominated by N-trans-caffeoyltyramine. The profile of oil polar extracts contained hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and cannabinoids at lower extent. While the extracts from hemp seed and flour did not interfere with growth of Caco-2 and HT-29 cell, the one from oil (150 µg/mL) significantly reduced cell viability after 24 h of treatment. This effect was associated with the activation of apoptotic cell death and was independent from the antioxidant capacity of the oil polar extract. Notably, HT-29 cells differentiated with sodium butyrate were not sensitive to the cytotoxic effect of the oil extract.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31544542

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09637486.2019.1666804?journalCode=iijf20

The heterogeneity and complexity of Cannabis extracts as antitumor agents

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“The Cannabis plant contains over 100 phytocannabinoids and hundreds of other components. The biological effects and interplay of these Cannabis compounds are not fully understood and yet influence the plant’s therapeutic effects.

Here we assessed the antitumor effects of whole Cannabis extracts, which contained significant amounts of differing phytocannabinoids, on different cancer lines from various tumor origins.

Our results show that specific Cannabis extracts impaired the survival and proliferation of cancer cell lines as well as induced apoptosis.

Our findings showed that pure (-)-Δ9–trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) did not produce the same effects on these cell lines as the whole Cannabis extracts. Furthermore, Cannabis extracts with similar amounts of Δ9-THC produced significantly different effects on the survival of specific cancer cells.

In addition, we demonstrated that specific Cannabis extracts may selectively and differentially affect cancer cells and differing cancer cell lines from the same organ origin. We also found that cannabimimetic receptors were differentially expressed among various cancer cell lines and suggest that this receptor diversity may contribute to the heterogeneous effects produced by the differing Cannabis extracts on each cell line.

Our overall findings indicate that the effect of a Cannabis extract on a specific cancer cell line relies on the extract’s composition as well as on certain characteristics of the targeted cells.”

http://www.oncotarget.com/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path[]=26983

“Many previous reports highlight and demonstrate the anti-tumor effects of cannabinoids. In the last decade, accumulating evidence has indicated that phytocannabinoids might have antitumor properties. A number of in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the effects of phytocannabinoids on tumor progression by interrupting several characteristic features of cancer. These studies suggest that specific cannabinoids such as Δ9-THC and CBD induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in various cancer cell lines.”

http://www.oncotarget.com/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=26983&path%5B%5D=85698

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31289609/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6609248/

Antitumor Cannabinoid Chemotypes: Structural Insights.

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Image result for frontiers in pharmacology“Cannabis has long been known to limit or prevent nausea and vomiting, lack of appetite, and pain. For this reason, cannabinoids have been successfully used in the treatment of some of the unwanted side effects caused by cancer chemotherapy.

Besides their palliative effects, research from the past two decades has demonstrated their promising potential as antitumor agents in a wide variety of tumors.

Cannabinoids of endogenous, phytogenic, and synthetic nature have been shown to impact the proliferation of cancer through the modulation of different proteins involved in the endocannabinoid system such as the G protein-coupled receptors CB1, CB2, and GRP55, the ionotropic receptor TRPV1, or the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH).

In this article, we aim to structurally classify the antitumor cannabinoid chemotypes described so far according to their targets and types of cancer. In a drug discovery approach, their in silico pharmacokinetic profile has been evaluated in order to identify appropriate drug-like profiles, which should be taken into account for further progress toward the clinic.

This analysis may provide structural insights into the selection of specific cannabinoid scaffolds for the development of antitumor drugs for the treatment of particular types of cancer.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31214034

“The first report on the antitumor activity of phytocannabinoids was published over four decades ago. During these last years, significant research has been focused on the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids to manage palliative effects in cancer patients. Besides such palliative applications, some cannabinoids have shown anticancer properties. Since inflammation is a common risk factor for cancer, and some cannabinoids have shown anti-inflammatory properties, they could play a role in chemoprevention.” https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00621/full
“Antitumor effects of THC.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11097557
“Antitumor effects of cannabidiol” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14617682
“Anti-tumour actions of cannabinoids.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30019449
“Extensive preclinical research has demonstrated that cannabinoids, the active ingredients of Cannabis sativa, trigger antitumor responses in different models of cancer.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29940172

5-Chlorobenzofuran-2-carboxamides: From allosteric CB1 modulators to potential apoptotic antitumor agents.

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European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry“Cannabinoids as THC and the CB1 allosteric modulator CBD were reported to have antiproliferative activities with no reports for other CB1 allosteric modulators as the 5-chloroindole-2-carboxamide derivatives and their furan congeners. Based on the antiproliferative activity of two 5-chlorobenzofuran-2-carboxamide allosteric CB1 modulators, a series of novel derivatives was designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds were tested in a cell viability assay using human mammary gland epithelial cell line (MCF-10A) where all the compounds exhibited no cytotoxic effects and more than 85% cell viability at a concentration of 50 μM. Some derivatives showed good antiproliferative activities against tumor cells as compounds 8, 15, 21 and 22. The most active compound 15 showed equipotent activity to doxorubicin. Compounds 7, 9, 15, 16, 21 and 22 increased the level of active caspase 3 by 4-8 folds, compared to the control cells in MCF-7 cell line and doxorubicin as a reference drug. Compounds 15 and 21, the most activecaspase-3 inducers, increase the levels of caspase 8 and 9 indicating activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways and showed potent induction of Bax, down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein levels and over-expression of Cytochrome C levels in MCF-7 cell lines. Compound 15 exhibited cell cycle arrest at the Pre-G1 and G2/M phases in the cell cycle analysis of MCF-7 cell line. The drug Likeness profile of the synthesized compounds showed that all the compounds were predicted to have high oral absorption complying with different pharmacokinetics filters.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31128433

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0223523419304507?via%3Dihub

Potential Use of Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.

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Image result for Journal Pancreatic Cancer

“Cannabinoid extracts may have anticancer properties, which can improve cancer treatment outcomes.

The aim of this review is to determine the potentially utility of cannabinoids in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Results: Cannabinol receptors have been identified in pancreatic cancer with several studies showing in vitroantiproliferative and proapoptotic effects. The main active substances found in cannabis plants are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There effects are predominately mediated through, but not limited to cannabinoid receptor-1, cannabinoid receptor-2, and G-protein-coupled receptor 55 pathways. In vitro studies consistently demonstrated tumor growth-inhibiting effects with CBD, THC, and synthetic derivatives. Synergistic treatment effects have been shown in two studies with the combination of CBD/synthetic cannabinoid receptor ligands and chemotherapy in xenograft and genetically modified spontaneous pancreatic cancer models. There are, however, no clinical studies to date showing treatment benefits in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Conclusions: Cannabinoids may be an effective adjunct for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Data on the anticancer effectiveness of various cannabinoid formulations, treatment dosing, precise mode of action, and clinical studies are lacking.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30706048
“Endogenous cannabinoids, synthetic or cannabis extracted from plants, can reduce tumor invasion and growth, induce tumor cell death, and inhibit tumor angiogenesis via cannabinoid receptor or receptor-independent pathways. Cannabinoid receptors appear to be highly expressed in pancreatic cancer compared with normal pancreatic tissue. CBD and THC appear to have antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects.”
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/pancan.2018.0019

Bortezomib And Endocannabinoid/Endovanilloid System: A Synergism In Osteosarcoma.

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Pharmacological Research

“Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone in children and adolescents.

Bortezomib (BTZ) is an approved anticancer drug, classified as a selective reversible inhibitor of the ubiquitin-dependent proteasome system, that leads to cancer cell cycle arrest and apoptosis reducing the invasion ability of Osteosarcoma cells in vitro. It also regulates the RANK/RANKL/OPG system, involved in the pathogenesis of bone tumors and in cell migration.

A side effect of BTZ is to induce painful sensory peripheral neuropathy which lead to cessation of therapy or dose reduction.

Recently BTZ has been evaluated in combination with Cannabinoids targeting CB1 receptor, demonstrating a promising synergic effect.

The Endocannabinoid/Endovanilloid (EC/EV) system includes two G protein-coupled receptors (CB1 and CB2), the Transient Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel and their endogenous ligands and enzymes.

CB1 and CB2 are expressed mainly in Central Nervous System and Immune Peripheral cells respectively. TRPV1 is also expressed in primary sensory neurons and is involved in pain modulation.

EC/EV system induces apoptosis, reduces invasion and cell proliferation in Osteosarcoma cell lines and is involved in bone metabolism.

We analyzed the effects of BTZ, alone and in combination with selective agonists at CB2 (JWH-133) and TRPV1 (RTX) receptors, in the Osteosarcoma cell line (HOS) on Apoptosis, Cell Cycle progression, migration and bone balance. We observed that the stimulation of CB2 and TRPV1 receptors increase the efficacy of BTZ in inducing apoptosis and reducing invasion, cell cycle progression and by modulating bone balance.

These data suggest the possibility to use BTZ, in combination with EC/EV agonists, in Osteosarcoma therapy reducing its dose and its side effects.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30267762

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043661818310387

Cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth in prostate cancer in a cannabinoid-receptor 2 dependent manner.

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The Prostate banner

“Cannabinoids have demonstrated anticarcinogenic properties in a variety of malignancies, including in prostate cancer.

In the present study, we explored the anti-cancer effects of the synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 (WIN) in prostate cancer.

RESULTS:

WIN significantly reduced prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, induced apoptosis, and arrested cells in Go/G1 phase in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistic studies revealed these effects were mediated through a pathway involving cell cycle regulators p27, Cdk4, and pRb. Pre-treatment with a CB2 antagonist, AM630, followed by treatment with WIN resulted in a reversal of the anti-proliferation and cell cycle arrest previously seen with WIN alone. In vivo, administration of WIN resulted in a reduction in the tumor growth rate compared to control (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

The following study provides evidence supporting the use of WIN as a novel therapeutic for prostate cancer.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30242861

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pros.23720

Identification of Synergistic Interaction Between Cannabis-Derived Compounds for Cytotoxic Activity in Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines and Colon Polyps That Induces Apoptosis-Related Cell Death and Distinct Gene Expression.

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Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research cover image

“Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer diagnosis and fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Purified cannabinoids have been reported to prevent proliferation, metastasis, and induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cell types. However, the active compounds from Cannabis sativa flowers and their interactions remain elusive.

Research Aim: This study was aimed to specify the cytotoxic effect of C. sativa-derived extracts on colon cancer cells and adenomatous polyps by identification of active compound(s) and characterization of their interaction.

Conclusions:C. sativa compounds interact synergistically for cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cells and induce cell cycle arrest, apoptotic cell death, and distinct gene expression. F3, F7, and F7+F3 are also active on adenomatous polyps, suggesting possible future therapeutic value.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29992185

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2018.0010