title: Comparing the effects of endogenous and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists on survival of gastric cancer cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anti-neoplastic activity induced by cannabinoids has been extensively documented for a number of cancer cell types; however, this topic has been explored in gastric cancer cells only in a limited number of approaches. Thus, the need of integrative and comparative studies still persists.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study we tested and compared the effects of three different cannabinoid receptor agonists-anandamide (AEA), (R)-(+)-methanandamide (Meth-AEA) and CP 55,940 (CP)- on gastric cancer cell morphology, viability and death events in order to provide new insights to the use of these agents for therapeutic purposes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three agents tested exhibited similar concentration-dependent effects in the induction of changes in cell morphology and cell loss, as well as in the decrease of cell viability and DNA laddering in the human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS). Differences among the cannabinoids tested were mostly observed in the density of cells found in early and late apoptosis and necrosis, favoring AEA and CP as the more effective inducers of apoptotic mechanisms, and Meth-AEA as a more effective inducer of necrosis through transient and rapid apoptosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through a comparative approach, our results support and confirm the therapeutic potential that cannabinoid receptor agonists exert in gastric cancer cells and open possibilities to use cannabinoids as part of a new gastric cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: García-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruiz-García
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meneses-García
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrera-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Medicina Translacional, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Ponce
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Oncología Torácica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, SSA. Mexico City 14080, Mexico.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montes-Servín
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Cannabinoides, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prospero-García
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Aminoácidos Excitadores, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, SSA. Mexico City 14269, Mexico. Electronic address: absada@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Del Angel
mesh_terms: D063386:Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D063386:Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists
keywords: Anti-proliferative activity; Anti-tumor therapy; Apoptosis; Cannabinoid receptor agonists; Gastric cancer cells