Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global problem. Oncology currently practices conventional methods of treating this carcinoma, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Unfortunately, their efficacy is low; hence, the exploration of new therapies is critical. Recently, many efforts have focused...

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Main Authors: Roman Paduch, Katarzyna Szwaczko, Kamil Dziuba, Adrian Wiater
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Cells
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/19/1616
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author Roman Paduch
Katarzyna Szwaczko
Kamil Dziuba
Adrian Wiater
author_facet Roman Paduch
Katarzyna Szwaczko
Kamil Dziuba
Adrian Wiater
author_sort Roman Paduch
collection DOAJ
description Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global problem. Oncology currently practices conventional methods of treating this carcinoma, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Unfortunately, their efficacy is low; hence, the exploration of new therapies is critical. Recently, many efforts have focused on developing safe and effective anticancer compounds. Some of them include cannabinoids. In the present study, we obtained cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), abnormal cannabigerol (abn-CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), and cannabicitran (CBT), by chemical synthesis and performed the biological evaluation of their activity on colon cancer cells. In this study, we analyzed the effects of selected cannabinoids on the lifespan and metabolic activity of normal colonic epithelial cells and cancer colon cells. This study demonstrated that cannabinoids can induce apoptosis in cancer cells by modulating mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity and cellular membrane integrity. The tested cannabinoids also influenced cell cycle progression. We also investigated the antioxidant activity of cannabinoids and established a relationship between the type of cannabinoid and nitric oxide (NO) production in normal and cancerous colon cells. To conclude, it seems that, due to their interesting properties, the cannabinoids studied may constitute an interesting target for further research aimed at their use in alternative or combined therapies for human colon cancer.
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spelling doaj-art-eb027cce47c5416d9a19675787ceed152025-08-20T01:47:42ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092024-09-011319161610.3390/cells13191616Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial CellsRoman Paduch0Katarzyna Szwaczko1Kamil Dziuba2Adrian Wiater3Department of Virology and Immunology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, PolandDepartment of Organic Chemistry and Crystallochemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Gliniana 33, 20-614 Lublin, PolandDepartment of Organic Chemistry and Crystallochemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Gliniana 33, 20-614 Lublin, PolandDepartment of Industrial and Environmental Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, PolandColorectal cancer (CRC) is a global problem. Oncology currently practices conventional methods of treating this carcinoma, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Unfortunately, their efficacy is low; hence, the exploration of new therapies is critical. Recently, many efforts have focused on developing safe and effective anticancer compounds. Some of them include cannabinoids. In the present study, we obtained cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), abnormal cannabigerol (abn-CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), and cannabicitran (CBT), by chemical synthesis and performed the biological evaluation of their activity on colon cancer cells. In this study, we analyzed the effects of selected cannabinoids on the lifespan and metabolic activity of normal colonic epithelial cells and cancer colon cells. This study demonstrated that cannabinoids can induce apoptosis in cancer cells by modulating mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity and cellular membrane integrity. The tested cannabinoids also influenced cell cycle progression. We also investigated the antioxidant activity of cannabinoids and established a relationship between the type of cannabinoid and nitric oxide (NO) production in normal and cancerous colon cells. To conclude, it seems that, due to their interesting properties, the cannabinoids studied may constitute an interesting target for further research aimed at their use in alternative or combined therapies for human colon cancer.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/19/1616cannabinoidscolon cancercolon normal epithelial cellscytotoxicitycell cycle
spellingShingle Roman Paduch
Katarzyna Szwaczko
Kamil Dziuba
Adrian Wiater
Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
Cells
cannabinoids
colon cancer
colon normal epithelial cells
cytotoxicity
cell cycle
title Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
title_full Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
title_fullStr Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
title_short Exploring the Potential of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Modulation of Biological Activity of Normal and Cancerous Human Colon Epithelial Cells
title_sort exploring the potential of synthetic cannabinoids modulation of biological activity of normal and cancerous human colon epithelial cells
topic cannabinoids
colon cancer
colon normal epithelial cells
cytotoxicity
cell cycle
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/13/19/1616
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AT kamildziuba exploringthepotentialofsyntheticcannabinoidsmodulationofbiologicalactivityofnormalandcanceroushumancolonepithelialcells
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