title: Gamma-irradiation enhances apoptosis induced by cannabidiol, a non-psychotropic cannabinoid, in cultured HL-60 myeloblastic leukemia cells.
abstract: Two non-psychotropic cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidiol-dimethylheptyl (CBD-DMH), induced apoptosis in a human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) HL-60 cell line. Apoptosis was determined by staining with bisBenzimide and propidium iodide. A dose dependent increase of apoptosis was noted, reaching 61 and 43% with 8 microg/ml CBD and 15 microg/ml CBD-DMH, respectively, after a 24 h treatment. Prior exposure of the cells to gamma-irradiation (800 cGy) markedly enhanced apoptosis, reaching values of 93 and 95%, respectively. Human monocytes from normal individuals were resistant to either cannabinoids or gamma-irradiation. Caspase-3 activation was observed after the cannabinoid treatment, and may represent a mechanism for the apoptosis. Our data suggest a possible new approach to treatment of AML.
authors.affiliation: The Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology, The Hebrew University Medical Faculty, Ein Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 1120, Israel. rgallily@md.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gallily
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Even-Chena
authors.forename: Galia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Katzavian
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dagan
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mechoulam
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002185:Cannabidiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005720:Gamma Rays; D018922:HL-60 Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D009000:Monocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D002185:Cannabidiol; C059322:5-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)cannabidiol; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases