Dr. Sang Hyuck Park, Dr.Kyungho Lee
Both Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are characterized by abnormal proliferation and an association with an affected immune response. Abnormal proliferation and inflammation disrupt endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis and induce the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR is associated with the pathogenesis of various human diseases including autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative disease, and diverse cancers. Therefore, the UPR could be served as a favorable therapeutic target for the treatment of RA and cancer.
Previously, we have shown that hempseed oil and DHA, one of the polyunsaturated fatty acids, showed the anti-rheumatoid and anti-cancer effects in association with the UPR pathway. Therefore, it is highly possible to find hemp components that control abnormal proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLSs) and cancer cells under inflammatory conditions.
Therefore, in this research, we propose to identify hemp components that control abnormal proliferation of human RA-FLSs and TNBC cells and investigate underlying mechanisms, focused on the UPR.