ICRF Grant Explores Cannabinoids’ Antitumoral Effects

Professor David Meiri, a new ICRF Project Grant recipient, talks about his research on a distinct combination of cannabinoids, which are able to induce cell death in leukemia cells.

As a new ICRF grantee, can you briefly describe your research relating to the cannabis plant and its effects on tumors?

Recently, the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and the unique active compounds of the cannabis plant, have become relevant in cancer research. Cannabis is currently being used by cancer patients, primarily in palliative care, but recent pre-clinical and clinical data suggest that the right plant components can actually exert antitumoral effects.

As cannabinoids have also been shown to play key roles in modulation of the immune system, we tested the effect of cannabis in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). We found a specific cannabis extract that selectively induces apoptosis (cell death) in T-ALL cells that have a mutation in the signaling receptor Notch1. In humans, more than 50 percent of T-ALL cases display Notch1 autoactivation, making this signaling pathway a strong candidate for new therapeutics. However, thus far, efforts to develop such agents have remained unsuccessful. In our research, we succeeded to isolate three unique cannabinoids that synergistically replicate the effect of the whole extract, resulting in reduced abnormal Notch1 signaling and diminished cancer propagation and burden. With these cannabinoids, we plan to establish a new targeted therapy for the treatment of Notch-dependent cancers such as T-ALL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Which kinds of cancers are you specifically targeting?  

We are currently focusing on T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but as aberrant Notch signaling is implicated in various cancer types, including skin, lung, breast, ovarian, cervical, prostate, pancreas, colon, brain and blood tumors, our findings are potentially relevant for combating numerous cancers.

How will ICRF help you to achieve this goal?

With support from ICRF, we hope to reveal cannabinoids’ full mechanism of action, optimize their efficacy and safety, and investigate their effect on Notch1-mutated leukemia cells from human patients.

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