“Two non-psychotropic cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidiol-dimethylheptyl (CBD-DMH), induced apoptosis in a human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) HL-60 cell line…
Caspase-3 activation was observed after the cannabinoid treatment, and may represent a mechanism for the apoptosis.
Our data suggest a possible new approach to treatment of AML.”
“Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol has been shown to induce incomplete maturation in ML2 human leukemia cell lines.
We extend the observation of its induction of morphologic maturation to HL60 cells and of its induction of growth restriction to HL60 and K562 cells.
We show that tetrahydrocannabinol reduces the cyclic AMP content of ML2 cells.
Finally we demonstrate that this agent inhibits adenyl cyclase activity in ML2 cell membrane-enriched fractions.
This finding in myeloid cells is compatible with one hypothesis of cannabinoid action in neuronal cells.”
“Monocyte maturation markers were induced in cultured human myeloblastic ML-2 leukemia cells after treatment for 1-6 days with 0.03-30 microM delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana…
Cannabinoids induce incomplete maturation of cultured human leukemia cells…
Findings obtained from this system may have important implications for studies of cannabinoid effects on normal human bone-marrow progenitor cells.”
“In the current study, we examined whether ligation of CB2 receptors would lead to induction of apoptosis in tumors of immune origin and whether CB2 agonist could be used to treat such cancers.
Exposure of murine tumors EL-4, LSA, and P815 to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in vitro led to a significant reduction in cell viability and an increase in apoptosis…
Culture of primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells with THC in vitro reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis.
Together, the current data demonstrate that CB2 cannabinoid receptors expressed on malignancies of the immune system may serve as potential targets for the induction of apoptosis. Also, because CB2 agonists lack psychotropic effects, they may serve as novel anticancer agents to selectively target and kill tumors of immune origin.”
http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/100/2/627.long
“We examined whether treatment of tumor-bearing mice with THC was effective at killing tumor cells in vivo… These data suggest that THC was effective in vivo to induce apoptosis and kill the tumor cells… THC treatment can cure tumor-bearing mice… they were completely cured…Taken together, these results suggest that THC can exert anticancer properties in vivo.” http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/100/2/627.long?sso-checked=1
“Targeting cannabinoid receptors has recently been shown to trigger apoptosis and offers a novel treatment modality against malignancies of the immune system.
In this study, we used human Jurkat leukemia cell lines with defects in intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways to elucidate the mechanism of apoptosis induced by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)…
Together, these data suggest that the intrinsic pathway plays a more critical role in THC-induced apoptosis while the extrinsic pathway may facilitate apoptosis via cross-talk with the intrinsic pathway.”
“Marijuana and many of its constituent cannabinoids influence the central nervous system (CNS), probably through the cannabinoid receptor, which has recently been cloned in rat and human. While numerous reports have also described effects of cannabinoids on the immune system, the observation of both mRNA and cannabinoid receptor has hitherto been exclusively confined to the brain, a reported detection in the testis being the sole example of its presence at the periphery.
Here we report the expression of the cannabinoid receptor on human immune tissues using a highly sensitive polymerase-chain-reaction-based method for mRNA quantification. We show that, although present in a much lower abundance than in brain, cannabinoid receptor transcripts are found in human spleen, tonsils and peripheral blood leukocytes…
The demonstration of cannabinoid-receptor expression at both mRNA and protein levels on human leukocytes provides a molecular basis for cannabinoid action on these cells.”
“Cannabinoids are implicated in the control of cell proliferation, but little is known about the role of the endocannabinoid system in human malignant melanoma. This study was aimed at characterizing the in vitro antitumor activity of anandamide (AEA) in A375 melanoma cells…
Overall, these findings demonstrate that AEA induces cytotoxicity against human melanoma cells in the micromolar range of concentrations through a complex mechanism, which involve COX-2 and LOX-derived product synthesis and CB1 activation. Lipid raft modulation, probably linked to GPR55 activation, might also have a role.”
“If results of a recent rat study hold true in human trials, marijuana could be the treatment of choice for patients with malignant glioma — an especially aggressive and often fatal form of brain cancer.
No, rats haven’t started smoking pot. But when researchers injected tumorous animals with cannabinoids — the drug’s active ingredient — about a third of them went into remission, and another third lived significantly longer than untreated rats.
The findings appear in the March issue of the journal Nature Medicine…
According to lead researcher Manuel Guzmán, PhD, his team’s previous studies showed that cannabinoids could stop growth and kill cancer cells but did not harm normal cells. The current work examined the action behind this effect and whether it would also work in living animals…
The researchers first caused tumors in the brains of 18 rats. They then injected the animals over the course of seven days with either a natural or artificial cannabinoid, or a placebo for comparison. Additional groups of healthy, tumor-free rats also received the various treatments…
All of the untreated animals with tumors died between days 12 and 18, but those treated with the cannabinoids lived much longer, and had significantly smaller tumors…
There were no negative side effects at all in the healthy animals receiving treatment.”
More:http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20000228/marijuanas-active-ingredient-targets-deadly-brain-cancer
Researchers say the cannabinoids found in marijuana may aid in brain tumor treatment by targeting the genes needed for the tumors to sprout blood vessels and grow.
Their study showed that cannabinoids inhibited genes needed for the production of vascular growth factor (VEGF) in laboratory mice with glioma brain tumors and two patients with late-stage glioblastoma multiforme, a form of brain cancer.
VEGF is a protein that stimulates blood vessels to grow. Tumors need an abundant blood supply because they generally grow rapidly. So when VEGF is blocked, tumors starve from lack of blood supply and nutrients.
Blocking of VEGF constitutes one of the most promising tumor-fighting approaches currently available, says researcher Manuel Guzman, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, at the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, in a news release.”
More:http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20040815/marijuana-stall-brain-tumor-growth
“THC and another marijuana-derived compound slow the spread of cervical and lung cancers, test-tube studies suggest.
The new findings add to the fast-growing number of animal and cell-culture studies showing different anticancer effects for cannabinoids, chemical compounds derived from marijuana.
Cannabinoids, and sometimes marijuana itself, are currently used to lessen the nausea and pain experienced by many cancer patients. The new findings — suggest that cannabinoids may have a direct anticancer effect.
“Cannabinoids’ … potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of highly invasive cancers should be addressed in clinical trials,” conclude Robert Ramer, PhD, and Burkhard Hinz, PhD, of the University of Rostock, Germany…
“Thus the effects of THC on cell invasion occurred at therapeutically relevant concentrations,” Ramer and Hinz note…
Ramer and Hinz report the findings in the Jan. 2, 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”
More: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20071226/pot-slows-cancer-in-test-tube
