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The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Br J Pharmacol. 2020 11; 177(21):4967-4970.BJ

Abstract

Identifying drugs effective in the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial, pending a vaccine against SARS-CoV2. We suggest the hypothesis that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid, has the potential to limit the severity and progression of the disease for several reasons:- (a) High-cannabidiol Cannabis sativa extracts are able to down-regulate the expression of the two key receptors for SARS-CoV2 in several models of human epithelia, (b) cannabidiol exerts a wide range of immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and it can mitigate the uncontrolled cytokine production responsible for acute lung injury, (c) being a PPARγ agonist, it can display a direct antiviral activity and (d) PPARγ agonists are regulators of fibroblast/myofibroblast activation and can inhibit the development of pulmonary fibrosis, thus ameliorating lung function in recovered patients. We hope our hypothesis, corroborated by preclinical evidence, will inspire further targeted studies to test cannabidiol as a support drug against the COVID-19 pandemic. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on The Pharmacology of COVID-19. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.21/issuetoc.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Esposito G
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Pesce M
Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
Seguella L
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Sanseverino W
Sequentia Biotech SL, Barcelona, Spain.
Lu J
Department of Human Anatomy, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Corpetti C
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Sarnelli G
Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.

MeSH

AnimalsBetacoronavirusCOVID-19CannabidiolCannabisCoronavirus InfectionsDisease ProgressionHumansPandemicsPlant ExtractsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexCOVID-19 Drug Treatment

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32519753

Citation

Esposito, Giuseppe, et al. "The Potential of Cannabidiol in the COVID-19 Pandemic." British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 177, no. 21, 2020, pp. 4967-4970.
Esposito G, Pesce M, Seguella L, et al. The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic. Br J Pharmacol. 2020;177(21):4967-4970.
Esposito, G., Pesce, M., Seguella, L., Sanseverino, W., Lu, J., Corpetti, C., & Sarnelli, G. (2020). The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Pharmacology, 177(21), 4967-4970. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15157
Esposito G, et al. The Potential of Cannabidiol in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Br J Pharmacol. 2020;177(21):4967-4970. PubMed PMID: 32519753.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic. AU - Esposito,Giuseppe, AU - Pesce,Marcella, AU - Seguella,Luisa, AU - Sanseverino,Walter, AU - Lu,Jie, AU - Corpetti,Chiara, AU - Sarnelli,Giovanni, Y1 - 2020/07/16/ PY - 2020/05/07/received PY - 2020/05/27/revised PY - 2020/05/29/accepted PY - 2020/6/11/pubmed PY - 2020/10/28/medline PY - 2020/6/11/entrez SP - 4967 EP - 4970 JF - British journal of pharmacology JO - Br J Pharmacol VL - 177 IS - 21 N2 - Identifying drugs effective in the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial, pending a vaccine against SARS-CoV2. We suggest the hypothesis that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid, has the potential to limit the severity and progression of the disease for several reasons:- (a) High-cannabidiol Cannabis sativa extracts are able to down-regulate the expression of the two key receptors for SARS-CoV2 in several models of human epithelia, (b) cannabidiol exerts a wide range of immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects and it can mitigate the uncontrolled cytokine production responsible for acute lung injury, (c) being a PPARγ agonist, it can display a direct antiviral activity and (d) PPARγ agonists are regulators of fibroblast/myofibroblast activation and can inhibit the development of pulmonary fibrosis, thus ameliorating lung function in recovered patients. We hope our hypothesis, corroborated by preclinical evidence, will inspire further targeted studies to test cannabidiol as a support drug against the COVID-19 pandemic. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on The Pharmacology of COVID-19. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.21/issuetoc. SN - 1476-5381 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32519753/The_potential_of_cannabidiol_in_the_COVID_19_pandemic_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -