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Pot of gold for glioma therapy

Nature Medicine volume 6, pages 255–256 (2000)Cite this article

Cannabinoid agonists arrest tumor progression in a rodent model of malignant glioma. Will these molecules provide a starting point for new strategies for anti-cancer therapy (313–319)?

And there it stayed for several decades—despite the lonely sounding of a few ‘voices crying in the wilderness’2,3—until about 10 years ago, when the serendipitous discovery of a brain receptor that binds cannabis-like compounds brought it back into the limelight4. The molecular cloning of the first cannabinoid receptor (now called CB1) was quickly followed by the identification of a second subtype in the immune system (CB2) and then by the characterization of two endogenous cannabis-like compounds with their attendant pathways of biosynthesis and inactivation5. These discoveries eventually led to the chemical syntheses of potent ligands (agonists and antagonists) selective for either receptor subtype, which have provided invaluable clues to help explain how the endogenous cannabinoid system may influence physiological functions as diverse as pain, movement control and blood pressure5. At the same time, these tools have rejuvenated Christinsons plea for “a more extensive enquiry” into the medicinal potential of cannabinoids, allowing researchers to test popular notions such as their appetite-stimulating or pain-killing effects, as well as to explore newer avenues of research. In this issue of Nature Medicine, a paper by Galve-Roperh et al. provides an excellent example of the cannabinoids' therapeutic potential6.

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Figure 1: How cannabinoid receptors may induce apoptosis in C6 glioma cells.

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  1. Department of Pharmacology, 360 Med Surge II, University of California, Irvine, 92697-4625, California, USA

    Daniele Piomelli

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  1. Daniele Piomelli
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Piomelli, D. Pot of gold for glioma therapy. Nat Med 6, 255–256 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/73088

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