Tag Archives: anti-inflammatory

A New Study Suggests Cannabis Could Treat Cervical Cancer

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“A new study suggests that cannabis might be useful in treating cervical cancer.

Through in vitro, or test tube/petri dish, analysis, researchers from the biochemistry department at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa found that the non-psychotropic cannabinoid, or chemical compound, CBD (cannabidiol), taken from a Cannabis sativa extract, could hold anticarcinogenic properties. They pointed out that cannabis acted on the cancerous cells through apoptosis, or a process of cell death, causing only the cancerous cells to kill themselves, and inhibiting their growth.

Cervical cancer is no longer a leading cause of death as much as it used to be in the United States, thanks in large part to the widespread use of pap smears, but it’s still a widespread threat. And in Sub-Saharan Africa, it kills 250,000 women every year. “This makes it the most lethal cancer amongst black women and calls for urgent therapeutic strategies,” the study’s authors wrote in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal. “In this study we compare the anti-proliferative effects of crude extract of Cannabis sativa and its main compound cannabidiol on different cervical cancer cell lines.”

It will take much more research before cannabis can be integrated into official cervical cancer treatments in sub-Saharan Africa. But earlier studies also shows that cannabis has been useful in treating not only the symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy, but also the cancer itself.

One study from the journal of Current Clinical Pharmacology found that cannabis served as a preventative agent, reducing inflammation, which researchers also said was useful in reducing the likelihood of cancer. Another study from Oncology Hematology also noted cannabis’ anti-cancer effects, explaining how the plant’s cannabinoids inhibited tumor growth in vitro, such as in a petri dish or test tube, and in vivo, or a living organism.

A handful of other studies have also looked into cannabis as a treatment specifically for cervical cancer. Another from the University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, found that the cannabinoids, including the body’s own endocannabinoids, offered “attractive opportunities for the development of novel potent anticancer drugs.”

With that said, often medical marijuana is ingested via capsules, tinctures, vaporizable oils, and other non-smokeable, more pharmaceutical-style forms. Should cannabis eventually become approved for cervical cancer treatment in Africa, it may be up for debate whether whole plant therapy (in which all the cannabinoids work synergistically through the “entourage effect”) or specific cannabinoid therapy is best.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-new-study-suggests-cannabis-could-treat-cervical-cancer

Therapeutic Potential of Non-Psychotropic Cannabidiol in Ischemic Stroke.

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“Cannabis contains the psychoactive component delta⁸-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta⁸-THC), and the non-psychoactive components cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol, and cannabigerol.

It is well-known that delta⁸-THC and other cannabinoid CB₁ receptor agonists are neuroprotective during global and focal ischemic injury.

Additionally, delta⁸-THC also mediates psychological effects through the activation of the CB₁ receptor in the central nervous system.

In addition to the CB₁ receptor agonists, cannabis also contains therapeutically active components which are CB₁ receptor independent.

Of the CB₁ receptor-independent cannabis, the most important is CBD.

In the past five years, an increasing number of publications have focused on the discovery of the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective effects of CBD.

In particular, CBD exerts positive pharmacological effects in ischemic stroke and other chronic diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The cerebroprotective action of CBD is CB₁ receptor-independent, long-lasting, and has potent anti-oxidant activity. Importantly, CBD use does not lead to tolerance.

In this review, we will discuss the therapeutic possibility of CBD as a cerebroprotective agent, highlighting recent pharmacological advances, novel mechanisms, and therapeutic time window of CBD in ischemic stroke.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713349

Tissue Engineering of Cartilage; Can Cannabinoids Help?

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“This review discusses the role of the cannabinoid system in cartilage tissue and endeavors to establish if targeting the cannabinoid system has potential in mesenchymal stem cell based tissue-engineered cartilage repair strategies.

The review discusses the potential of cannabinoids to protect against the degradation of cartilage in inflamed arthritic joints and the influence of cannabinoids on the chondrocyte precursors, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

We provide experimental evidence to show that activation of the cannabinoid system enhances the survival, migration and chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs, which are three major tenets behind the success of a cell-based tissue-engineered cartilage repair strategy.

These findings highlight the potential for cannabinoids to provide a dual function by acting as anti-inflammatory agents as well as regulators of MSC biology in order to enhance tissue engineering strategies aimed at cartilage repair.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713386

Dendritic Cell Regulation by Cannabinoid-Based Drugs.

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“Cannabinoid pharmacology has made important advances in recent years after the cannabinoid system was discovered.

Studies in experimental models and in humans have produced promising results using cannabinoid-based drugs for the treatment of obesity and cancer, as well as neuroinflammatory and chronic inflammatory diseases.

Moreover, as we discuss here, additional studies also indicates that these drugs have immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties including modulation of immune cell function.

Thus, manipulation of the endocannabinoid system in vivo may provide novel therapeutic strategies against inflammatory disorders.

At least two types of cannabinoid receptors, cannabinoid 1 and cannabinoid 2 receptors are expressed on immune cells such as dendritic cells (DC). Dendritic cells are recognized for their critical role in initiating and maintaining immune responses.

Therefore, DC are potential targets for cannabinoid-mediated modulation.

Here, we review the effects of cannabinoids on DC and provide some perspective concerning the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for the treatment of human diseases involving aberrant inflammatory processes.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713374

The Potential Role of Cannabinoids in Modulating Serotonergic Signaling by Their Influence on Tryptophan Metabolism.

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“Phytocannabinoids present in Cannabis plants are well known to exert potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.

Previously, we have demonstrated that the psychoactive D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) modulate mitogen-induced Th1-type immune responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

The suppressive effect of both cannabinoids on mitogen-induced tryptophan degradation mediated by indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), suggests an additional mechanism by which antidepressive effects of cannabinoids might be linked to the serotonergic system.

Here, we will review the role of tryptophan metabolism in the course of cell mediated immune responses and the relevance of cannabinoids in serotonergic signaling.

We conclude that in particular the non-psychotropic CBD might be useful for the treatment of mood disorders in patients with inflammatory diseases, since this cannabinoid seems to be safe and its effects on activation-induced tryptophan degradation by CBD were more potent as compared to THC.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713369

Brain CB₂ Receptors: Implications for Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

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“Although previously thought of as the peripheral cannabinoid receptor, it is now accepted that the CB₂ receptor is expressed in the central nervous system on microglia, astrocytes and subpopulations of neurons.

Expression of the CB₂ receptor in the brain is significantly lower than that of the CB₁ receptor. Conflicting findings have been reported on the neurological effects of pharmacological agents targeting the CB₂ receptor under normal conditions.

Under inflammatory conditions, CB₂ receptor expression in the brain is enhanced and CB2 receptor agonists exhibit potent anti-inflammatory effects. These findings have prompted research into the CB₂ receptor as a possible target for the treatment of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders.

Neuroinflammatory alterations are also associated with neuropsychiatric disorders and polymorphisms in the CB₂ gene have been reported in depression, eating disorders and schizophrenia. This review will examine the evidence to date for a role of brain CB₂ receptors in neuropsychiatric disorders.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713365

NSAIDs, Opioids, Cannabinoids and the Control of Pain by the Central Nervous System.

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“Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act upon peripheral tissues and upon the central nervous system to produce analgesia. A major central target of NSAIDs is the descending pain control system. The rostral structures of the descending pain control system send impulses towards the spinal cord and regulate the transmission of pain messages. Key structures of the descending pain control system are the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) and the rostral ventromedial region of the medulla (RVM), both of which are critical targets for endogenous opioids and opiate pharmaceuticals. NSAIDs also act upon PAG and RVM to produce analgesia and, if repeatedly administered, induce tolerance to themselves and cross-tolerance to opioids. Experimental evidence shows that this is due to an interaction of NSAIDs with endogenous opioids along the descending pain control system. Analgesia by NSAIDs along the descending pain control system also requires an activation of the CB1 endocannabinoid receptor. Several experimental approaches suggest that opioids, NSAIDs and cannabinoids in PAG and RVM cooperate to decrease GABAergic inhibition and thus enhance the descending flow of impulses that inhibit pain.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713305

Synthesis, Biodistribution and In vitro Evaluation of Brain Permeable High Affinity Type 2 Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists [11C]MA2 and [18F]MA3.

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“The type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2) is a member of the endocannabinoid system and is known for its important role in (neuro)inflammation.

A PET-imaging agent that allows in vivo visualization of CB2 expression may thus allow quantification of neuroinflammation.

In this paper, we report the synthesis, radiosynthesis, biodistribution and in vitro evaluation of a carbon-11 ([11C]MA2) and a fluorine-18 ([18F]MA3) labeled analog of a highly potent N-arylamide oxadiazole CB2 agonist (EC50 = 0.015 nM). MA2 and MA3 behaved as potent CB2 agonist (EC50: 3 nM and 0.1 nM, respectively) and their in vitro binding affinity for hCB2 was found to be 87 nM and 0.8 nM, respectively.

Also MA3 (substituted with a fluoro ethyl group) was found to have higher binding affinity and EC50 values when compared to the originally reported trifluoromethyl analog 12. [11C]MA2 and [18F]MA3 were successfully synthesized with good radiochemical yield, high radiochemical purity and high specific activity. In mice, both tracers were efficiently cleared from blood and all major organs by the hepatobiliary pathway and importantly these compounds showed high brain uptake.

In conclusion, [11C]MA2 and [18F]MA3 are shown to be high potent CB2 agonists with good brain uptake, these favorable characteristics makes them potential PET probes for in vivo imaging of brain CB2 receptors. However, in view of its higher affinity and selectivity, further detailed evaluation of MA3 as a PET tracer for CB2 is warranted.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713686

Gingival Stromal Cells as an In Vitro Model: Cannabidiol Modulates Genes Linked with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

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“Research in recent years has extensively investigated the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stromal cells in regenerative medicine for many neurodegenerative diseases at preclinical and clinical stages.

However, the success rate of stem cell therapy remains less at translational phase. Lack of relevant animal models that potentially simulate the molecular etiology of human pathological symptoms might be a reason behind such poor clinical outcomes associated with stem cell therapy.

Apparently, self-renewal and differentiation ability of mesenchymal stem cells may help to study the early developmental signaling pathways connected with the diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), etc., at in vitro level.

Cannabidiol, a non-psychotrophic cannabinoid, has been demonstrated as a potent anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agent in neurological preclinical models.

In the present study, we investigated the modulatory role of cannabidiol on genes associated with ALS using human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hGMSCs) as an in vitro model system.

Next generation transcriptomic sequencing analysis demonstrated considerable modifications in the expression of genes connected with ALS pathology, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and excitotoxicity in hGMSCs treated with cannabidiol.

Our results suggest the efficacy of cannabidiol to delineate the unknown molecular pathways, which may underlie ALS pathology at early stage using hGMSCs as a compelling in vitro system.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27714895

Vascular Dysfunction in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer’s Disease: Effects of CB1R and CB2R Cannabinoid Agonists.

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“There is evidence of altered vascular function, including cerebrovascular, in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and transgenic models of the disease.

Indeed vasoconstrictor responses are increased, while vasodilation is reduced in both conditions. β-Amyloid (Aβ) appears to be responsible, at least in part, of alterations in vascular function.

Cannabinoids, neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory agents, induce vasodilation both in vivo and in vitro.

We have demonstrated a beneficial effect of cannabinoids in models of AD by preventing glial activation.

In this work we have studied the effects of these compounds on vessel density in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice, line 2576, and on altered vascular responses in aortae isolated ring.

In summary, we have confirmed and extended the existence of altered vascular responses in Tg APP mice.

Moreover, our results suggest that treatment with cannabinoids may ameliorate the vascular responses in AD-type pathology.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27695396