Cannabinoid Agonist against AIDS

Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical School, working under the guidance of Dr. Cristina Costantino, have found that compounds similar to the active substance of marijuana activate receptors on the surface of immune cells that can directly inhibit the activity of HIV in the late stages of AIDS.

In certain situations, cannabinoids are prescribed to patients for the treatment of pain, exhaustion and lack of appetite – side effects characteristic of the late stages of AIDS. Scientists have demonstrated for the first time how receptors on the surface of immune cells for the active substances of marijuana, cannabinoids (CB1 and CB2), can influence the spread of the virus.

In the early stages of the disease, HIV gradually affects active immune cells carrying the CD4 receptor and deprives them of their ability to fight infections. For further spread of the virus, it is necessary to activate resting immune cells. During the progression of the disease, HIV mutates and acquires the ability to infect such cells, penetrating into them by interacting with the signal receptor CXCR4. The researchers demonstrated that activating the CB2 receptor on infected healthy immune cells with a synthetic cannabinoid agonist blocks this signaling mechanism, preventing the transmission of the virus to other cells.

In the experiments, the researchers used a drug that selectively affects CB2 receptors, since the activation of CB1 receptors causes a narcotic effect characteristic of marijuana use. They believe that a drug having such an effect can be used as an addition to the standard therapeutic protocol to suppress the symptoms of the disease and prevent the spread of the virus in the late stages of HIV. Unfortunately, in the early stages of the disease, the use of such a drug is meaningless.

In the near future, the authors plan to test their approach on a mouse model of late-stage AIDS.

Article by Costantino et al. Cannabinoid Receptor 2-Mediated Attenuation of CXCR4-Tropic HIV Infection in Primary CD4+ T Cells is published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Mount Sinai School of Medicine: Marijuana-Like Chemical May Prevent AIDS Progression.

26.03.2012