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Endocannabinoid signaling in glioma.

Carlos Costas-InsuaManuel Guzmán
Published in: Glia (2022)
High-grade gliomas constitute the most frequent and aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults. These tumors express cannabinoid CB 1 and CB 2 receptors, as well as other elements of the endocannabinoid system. Accruing preclinical evidence supports that pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors located on glioma cells exerts overt anti-tumoral effects by modulating key intracellular signaling pathways. The mechanism of this cannabinoid receptor-evoked anti-tumoral activity in experimental models of glioma is intricate and may involve an inhibition not only of cancer cell survival/proliferation, but also of invasiveness, angiogenesis, and the stem cell-like properties of cancer cells, thereby affecting the complex tumor microenvironment. However, the precise biological role of the endocannabinoid system in the generation and progression of glioma seems very context-dependent and remains largely unknown. Increasing our basic knowledge on how (endo)cannabinoids act on glioma cells could help to optimize experimental cannabinoid-based anti-tumoral therapies, as well as the preliminary clinical testing that is currently underway.
Keyphrases
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  • signaling pathway
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  • blood brain barrier
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