Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zürich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
First Clinic of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1308:249-255. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-64872-5_17.
The global march towards legalization of marijuana consumption is pursued in reason of the supposed harmless properties of this plant. Actually, a wide range of cannabinoids is endogenously produced and interacts with different classes of receptors ubiquitously distributed in the human body. Such endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulates several functions in health and disease. However, studies on synthetic ligands with selective agonist/antagonist activity on specific cannabinoid receptors, have clarified how complex the cannabinoid system is. The whole biological activity of cannabis sativa remains difficult to establish, due to the fact that it is a complex mixture of phytocannabinoids with different or even opposing effects. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the most represented phytocannabinoid in the marijuana plant and then the most studied compound. It has been widely associated with adverse CV effects in marijuana smokers. Conversely, less is known about the role of other phytocannabinoids. Here, we summarized the current knowledge about the effects of phytocannabinoids in CV disease, mainly focusing on atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. We critically discussed clinical and experimental evidence linking phytocannabinoids to CV disease, attempting at explaining some controversies and suggesting the direction for future studies.
全球范围内推动大麻消费合法化的原因是基于这种植物据称是无害的特性。实际上，广泛的大麻素是内源性产生的，与人体中广泛分布的不同受体类别相互作用。这种内源性大麻素系统（ECS）调节着健康和疾病中的多种功能。然而，对具有特定大麻素受体选择性激动剂/拮抗剂活性的合成配体的研究，阐明了大麻素系统是多么复杂。由于大麻中存在不同甚至相反作用的多种植物大麻素，大麻的整体生物活性仍然难以确定。Δ9-四氢大麻酚是大麻植物中含量最丰富的植物大麻素，也是研究最多的化合物。它已被广泛认为与大麻吸食者的不良心血管效应有关。相反，关于其他植物大麻素的作用知之甚少。在这里，我们总结了关于植物大麻素在心血管疾病中的作用的现有知识，主要集中在动脉粥样硬化和心肌梗死上。我们批判性地讨论了将植物大麻素与心血管疾病联系起来的临床和实验证据，试图解释一些争议，并为未来的研究提出方向。
