Principal Investigators: Dr. Annette Gabaldon, Biology, and Dr. Brian Vanden Heuvel, Biology
Cannabinoid receptors are ubiquitous and are found on cells all throughout the body. Endogenous, exogenous, or synthetic cannabinoids can bind to the receptors and trigger a cellular response. It has been shown that activation of the CB1 receptor in liver cells increases metabolic pathways including fatty acid synthesis and gluconeogenesis.
Current published literature has shown basic trends of metabolic changes during cannabinoid receptor activation, but a detailed analysis of which cellular pathways are involved and real-time data showing those changes is lacking. Last year the ICR funded the purchase and installation of a Seahorse Bioanalyzer to measure metabolic alterations in living cells. Originally led by Dr. Jordan Steel, the work resulted in protocols and optimization of the Seahorse for measuring mitochondrial manipulations in our human liver cell line.
The initial data from the Seahorse is very promising and indicates that cannabinoids are inducing specific metabolic changes in cells expressing the CB1 receptor. A better and clearer understanding of how cannabinoids alter cellular metabolism will have a huge impact on cannabis research and provide critical data on how medicinal or recreational marijuana use impacts cellular physiology. This proposal is seeking funding for the next three years to support the collection of this important data.
Thus far, ICR funding provided Dr. Steel with the essential resources to collect preliminary data, which resulted in oral and poster presentations at the 2017 ICR conference and also the Conference on Pharmacology and Drug Abuse in Boston, Massachusetts in September 2017. Dr. Steel also submitted a manuscript to the upcoming ICR journal to publish findings from the pilot study looking at the impact of cannabinoid-induced metabolic changes on viral replication. Dr. Annette Gabaldon and Dr. Brian Vanden Heuvel will continue the project for 2018-2019.