Cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound, inhibits proliferation and invasion in U87-MG and T98G glioma cells through a multitarget effect.

• Main Authors: Marta Solinas, Paola Massi, Valentina Cinquina, Marta Valenti, Daniele Bolognini, Marzia Gariboldi, Elena Monti, Tiziana Rubino, Daniela Parolaro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24204703/?tool=EBI

In the present study, we found that CBD inhibited U87-MG and T98G cell proliferation and invasiveness in vitro and caused a decrease in the expression of a set of proteins specifically involved in growth, invasion and angiogenesis. In addition, CBD treatment caused a dose-related down-regulation of ERK and Akt prosurvival signaling pathways in U87-MG and T98G cells and decreased hypoxia inducible factor HIF-1α expression in U87-MG cells. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the antitumor action of CBD, showing that this cannabinoid affects multiple tumoral features and molecular pathways. As CBD is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid that appears to be devoid of side effects, our results support its exploitation as an effective anti-cancer drug in the management of gliomas.