Tag Archives: cannabinoid

Inhibition of Wnt/β-Catenin pathway and Histone acetyltransferase activity by Rimonabant: a therapeutic target for colon cancer.

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“In a high percentage (≥85%) of both sporadic and familial adenomatous polyposis forms of colorectal cancer (CRC), the inactivation of the APC tumor suppressor gene initiates tumor formation and modulates the Wnt/β-Catenin transduction pathways involved in the control of cell proliferation, adhesion and metastasis.

Increasing evidence showed that the endocannabinoids control tumor growth and progression, both in vitro and in vivo.

We evaluated the effect of Rimonabant, a Cannabinoid Receptor 1 (CB1) inverse agonist, on the Wnt/β-Catenin pathway in HCT116 and SW48 cell lines carrying the genetic profile of metastatic CRC poorly responsive to chemotherapies.

Obtained data heavily supported the rationale for the use of cannabinoids in combined therapies for metastatic CRC harbouring activating mutations of β-Catenin.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28916833

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11688-x

The role of cannabinoid receptors in renal diseases.

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“Chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains a major challenge for Public Health systems and corresponds to the replacement of renal functional tissue by extra-cellular matrix proteins such as collagens and fibronectin. There is no efficient treatment to date for CKD except nephroprotective strategies.

The cannabinoid system and more specifically the cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) may represent a new therapeutic target in CKD.

Our review will first focus on the current state of knowledge regarding the cannabinoid system in normal renal physiology and in various experimental nephropathies, especially diabetes.  We will review the data obtained in models of diabetes and obesity as well as in nonmetabolic models of renal fibrosis and emphasizes the promising role of CB1 blockers and CB2 agonists in the development of renal disease and fibrosis. Next, we will review the current state of knowledge regarding the cellular pathways involved in renal fibrogenesis and renal injury.

Overall, this review will highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting the cannabinoid receptors in CKD and diabetes.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28901271

The FAAH inhibitor URB597 suppresses hippocampal maximal dentate afterdischarges and restores seizure-induced impairment of short and long-term synaptic plasticity.

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“Synthetic cannabinoids and phytocannabinoids have been shown to suppress seizures both in humans and experimental models of epilepsy.

However, they generally have a detrimental effect on memory and memory-related processes. Here we compared the effect of the inhibition of the endocannabinoid (eCB) degradation versus synthetic CB agonist on limbic seizures induced by maximal dentate activation (MDA) acute kindling. Moreover, we investigated the dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell reactivity and synaptic plasticity in naïve and in MDA-kindled anaesthetised rats.

We found that both the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 and the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 displayed AM251-sensitive anti-seizure effects. WIN55,212-2, dose-dependently (0.5-2 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired short-term plasticity (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) at perforant path-DG synapses in naïve rats. Strikingly, URB597 (1 mg/kg, i.p.) was devoid of any deleterious effects in normal conditions, while it prevented seizure-induced alterations of both STP and LTP.

Our evidence indicates that boosting the eCB tone rather than general CB1 activation might represent a potential strategy for the development of a new class of drugs for treatment of both seizures and comorbid memory impairments associated with epilepsy.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28894217

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11606-1

Piperine-pro-nanolipospheres as a novel oral delivery system of cannabinoids: Pharmacokinetic evaluation in healthy volunteers in comparison to buccal spray administration.

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“Nowadays, therapeutic indications for cannabinoids, specifically Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) are widening. However, the oral consumption of the molecules is very limited due to their highly lipophilic nature that leads to poor solubility at the aqueous environment. Additionally, THC and CBD are prone to extensive first pass mechanisms. These absorption obstacles render the molecules with low and variable oral bioavailability. To overcome these limitations we designed and developed the advanced pro-nanolipospheres (PNL) formulation. The PNL delivery system is comprised of a medium chain triglyceride, surfactants, a co-solvent and the unique addition of a natural absorption enhancer: piperine. Piperine was selected due to its distinctive inhibitory properties affecting both Phase I and Phase II metabolism. This constellation self emulsifies into nano particles that entrap the cannabinoids and the piperine in their core and thus improve their solubility while piperine and the other PNL excipients inhibit their intestinal metabolism. Another clear advantage of the formulation is its composition of materials approved for human consumption. The safe nature of the excipients enabled their direct evaluation in humans. In order to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of the THC-CBD-piperine-PNL formulation, a two-way crossover, single administration clinical study was conducted. The trial comprised of 9 healthy volunteers under fasted conditions. Each subject received a THC-CBD (1:1, 10mg) piperine (20mg)-PNL filled capsule and an equivalent dose of the oromucosal spray Sativex® with a washout period in between treatments. Single oral administration of the piperine-PNL formulation resulted in a 3-fold increase in Cmax and a 1.5-fold increase in AUC for THC when compared to Sativex®. For CBD, a 4-fold increase in Cmax and a 2.2-fold increase in AUC was observed. These findings demonstrate the potential this formulation has in serving as a standardized oral cannabinoid formulation. Moreover, the concept of improving oral bioavailability described here, can pave the way for other potential lipophilic active compounds requiring enhancement of their oral bioavailability.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28890215

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016836591730843X

Cannabidiol, a novel inverse agonist for GPR12.

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“GPR12 is a constitutively active, Gs protein-coupled receptor that currently has no confirmed endogenous ligands. GPR12 may be involved in physiological processes such as maintenance of oocyte meiotic arrest and brain development, as well as pathological conditions such as metastatic cancer. In this study, the potential effects of various classes of cannabinoids on GPR12 were tested using a cAMP accumulation assay.

Our data demonstrate that cannabidiol (CBD), a major non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid, acted as an inverse agonist to inhibit cAMP accumulation stimulated by the constitutively active GPR12. Thus, GPR12 is a novel molecular target for CBD.

CBD is a promising novel therapeutic agent for cancer, and GPR12 has been shown to alter viscoelasticity of metastatic cancer cells.

Since we have demonstrated that CBD is an inverse agonist for GPR12, this provides novel mechanism of action for CBD, and an initial chemical scaffold upon which highly potent and efficacious agents acting on GPR12 may be developed with the ultimate goal of blocking cancer metastasis.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28888984

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X1731759X

Attenuation of early phase inflammation by cannabidiol prevents pain and nerve damage in rat osteoarthritis.

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“Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial joint disease, which includes joint degeneration, intermittent inflammation, and peripheral neuropathy. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-euphoria producing constituent of cannabis that has the potential to relieve pain.

The aim of this study was to determine if CBD is anti-nociceptive in OA, and whether inhibition of inflammation by CBD could prevent the development of OA pain and joint neuropathy.

The therapeutic and prophylactic effects of peripheral CBD (100-300μg) were assessed. In end stage OA, CBD dose-dependently decreased joint afferent firing rate, and increased withdrawal threshold and weight bearing (p<0.0001; n=8). Acute, transient joint inflammation was reduced by local CBD treatment (p<0.0001; n=6). Prophylactic administration of CBD prevented the development of MIA-induced joint pain at later time points (p<0.0001; n=8), and was also found to be neuroprotective (p<0.05; n=6-8).

The data presented here indicate that local administration of CBD blocked OA pain. Prophylactic CBD treatment prevented the later development of pain and nerve damage in these OA joints.

These findings suggest that CBD may be a safe, useful therapeutic for treating OA joint neuropathic pain.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28885454             https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006396-900000000-99152

Cannabis constituent synergy in a mouse neuropathic pain model.

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“Cannabis and its psychoactive constituent Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have efficacy against neuropathic pain however, this is hampered by their side-effects. It has been suggested that co-administration with another major constituent cannabidiol (CBD) might enhance the analgesic actions of THC and minimise its deleterious side-effects.

We examined the basis for this phytocannabinoid interaction in a mouse chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain. Acute systemic administration of THC dose-dependently reduced CCI-induced mechanical and cold allodynia, but also produced motor incoordination, catalepsy and sedation. CBD produced a lesser dose-dependent reduction in allodynia, but did not produce the cannabinoid side-effects. When co-administered in a fixed ratio, THC and CBD produced a biphasic dose-dependent reduction in allodynia. At low doses, the THC:CBD combination displayed a 200-fold increase in anti-allodynic potency, but had lower efficacy compared to that predicted for an additive drug interaction. By contrast, high THC:CBD doses had lower potency, but greater anti-allodynic efficacy compared to that predicted for an additive interaction. Only the high dose THC:CBD anti-allodynia was associated with cannabinoid side-effects and these were similar to those of THC alone. Unlike THC, the low dose THC:CBD anti-allodynia was not cannabinoid receptor mediated.

These findings demonstrate that CBD synergistically enhances the pain relieving actions of THC in an animal neuropathic pain model, but has little impact on the THC-induced side-effects. This suggests that low dose THC:CBD combination treatment has potential in the treatment of neuropathic pain.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28885457
https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006396-900000000-99155

Intra-cerebral cannabidiol infusion-induced neuroprotection is partly associated with the TNF-α/TNFR1/NF-кB pathway in transient focal cerebral ischaemia.

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“Stroke is a neurological disease, which, in addition to high mortality, imposes many financial and mental burdens on families and the society.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cannabidiol (CBD) on one of the major inflammatory pathways in cerebral ischaemia.

RESULTS:

Administration of CBD (100 and 200 ng/rat) caused a significant reduction in infarction, brain oedema, and BBB permeability compared with the vehicle-received group. Down-regulation of TNF-α, TNFR1, and NF-кB expression was also observed by CBD.

CONCLUSION:

The results achieved in this study support the idea that CBD has a cerebroprotective effect (partly through suppression of TNF-α, TNFR1, and NF-кB) on ischaemic injury.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28872345

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699052.2017.1358397?journalCode=ibij20

Cannabidiol inhibits priming-induced reinstatement of methamphetamine in REM sleep deprived rats.

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Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry

“Methamphetamine (METH) is a widely abused and a severely addictive psychostimulant. Relapse is the main cause of concern when treating addiction. It could manifest after a long period of abstinence. Previous studies showed that there is a strong connection between sleep impairment and relapse.

Also, it has been reported that cannabidiol might be a potential treatment for drug craving and relapse. In this study, we used conditioned place preference (CPP) to investigate whether Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid, can prevent METH-induced reinstatement in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Deprived (RSD) rats.

In conclusion, the administration of CBD 10μg/5μl effectively prevents METH-induced CPP, even in a condition of stress. CBD can be considered an agent that reduces the risk of the relapse; however, this requires more investigation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28870635

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027858461730218X?via%3Dihub

Mechanisms of action of cannabidiol in adoptively transferred experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

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“Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most important compounds in Cannabis sativa, lacks psychotropic effects, and possesses a high number of therapeutic properties including the amelioration of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

The aim of this study was to analyse the relative efficacy of CBD in adoptively transferred EAE (at-EAE), a model that allows better delineation of the effector phase of EAE.

Preventive intraperitoneal treatment with CBD ameliorated the clinical signs of at-EAE. CBD markedly improved the clinical signs of at-EAE and reduced infiltration, demyelination and axonal damage. The CBD-mediated decrease in the viability of encephalitogenic cells involves ROS generation, apoptosis and a decrease in IL-6 production and may contribute to the therapeutic effect of this compound.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28867485

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014488617302212