Weiss L, Zeira M, Reich S, Har-Noy M, Mechoulam R, Slavin S, Gallily R
Hadassah University Hospital, Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cancer Immunotherapy, POB 12000, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel.
Autoimmunity. 2006 Mar;39(2):143-51. doi: 10.1080/08916930500356674.
Cannabidinoids are components of the Cannabis sativa (marijuana) plant that have been shown capable of suppressing inflammation and various aspects of cell-mediated immunity. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabidinoid has been previously shown by us to suppress cell-mediated autoimmune joint destruction in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis. We now report that CBD treatment significantly reduces the incidence of diabetes in NOD mice from an incidence of 86% in non-treated control mice to an incidence of 30% in CBD-treated mice. CBD treatment also resulted in the significant reduction of plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. Th1-associated cytokine production of in vitro activated T-cells and peritoneal macrophages was also significantly reduced in CBD-treated mice, whereas production of the Th2-associated cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10, was increased when compared to untreated control mice. Histological examination of the pancreatic islets of CBD-treated mice revealed significantly reduced insulitis. Our results indicate that CBD can inhibit and delay destructive insulitis and inflammatory Th1-associated cytokine production in NOD mice resulting in a decreased incidence of diabetes possibly through an immunomodulatory mechanism shifting the immune response from Th1 to Th2 dominance.
大麻素是大麻植物的成分，已被证明能够抑制炎症和细胞介导免疫的各个方面。大麻二酚（CBD）是一种无精神活性的大麻素，我们之前已证明它能在类风湿性关节炎动物模型中抑制细胞介导的自身免疫性关节破坏。我们现在报告，CBD治疗可显著降低NOD小鼠的糖尿病发病率，未治疗的对照小鼠发病率为86%，而接受CBD治疗的小鼠发病率为30%。CBD治疗还导致促炎细胞因子IFN-γ和TNF-α的血浆水平显著降低。与未治疗的对照小鼠相比，接受CBD治疗的小鼠体外活化T细胞和腹腔巨噬细胞的Th1相关细胞因子产生也显著降低，而Th2相关细胞因子IL-4和IL-10的产生增加。对接受CBD治疗的小鼠胰岛进行组织学检查发现胰岛炎显著减轻。我们的结果表明，CBD可以抑制和延缓NOD小鼠的破坏性胰岛炎和炎症性Th1相关细胞因子产生，从而降低糖尿病发病率，这可能是通过一种免疫调节机制将免疫反应从Th1主导转变为Th2主导实现的。
