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The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic

Giuseppe Esposito, Marcella Pesce, Luisa Seguella, Walter Sanseverino, Jie Lu, Chiara Corpetti, Giovanni Sarnelli

fibrosis Cannabinoids immune system COVID-19 anti-inflammatory

Key takeaways

01CBD may down-regulate ACE2 receptors, potentially limiting the entry of SARS-CoV2 into human cells
02The compound might mitigate the uncontrolled cytokine production responsible for acute lung injury
03Activation of PPARγ receptors could inhibit fibroblast activation and the development of pulmonary fibrosis
04CBD generally maintains a favorable safety profile but may interact with other co-administered drugs
05These suggestions are based on preclinical models and require validation through targeted clinical studies

CBD is hypothesized to reduce inflammation and prevent lung fibrosis in COVID-19, though human clinical evidence is currently lacking.

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.

Cite this study

APA: Giuseppe Esposito, Marcella Pesce, Luisa Seguella, Walter Sanseverino, Jie Lu, Chiara Corpetti, & Giovanni Sarnelli (2020). The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic. https://fasciaresearchdatabase.com/the-potential-of-cannabidiol-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/
MLA: Giuseppe Esposito, et al. "The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic." 2020, https://fasciaresearchdatabase.com/the-potential-of-cannabidiol-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/.
Chicago: Giuseppe Esposito et al. 2020. "The potential of cannabidiol in the COVID-19 pandemic.". https://fasciaresearchdatabase.com/the-potential-of-cannabidiol-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/