THE EFFECT OF CANNABIDIVARIN ON T-CELL LINES PROLIFERATION AND ACTIVATION

Abstract

Cannabidivarin (CBDV) is a non-psychotropic cannabinoid and a propyl analog of cannabidiol (CBD). Studies have suggested CBD has immunosuppression, but little is known about the effects of CBDV. Therefore, we explored the effects of CBDV on cell proliferation and activation of T-cell lines. The study was performed by investigating cell cytotoxicity, T-cell activation (expression of CD25 and CD69), and cell proliferation. Varying doses of CBDV and CBD were administered to Jurkat and MOLT-4 cell lines. CBDV demonstrated less toxicity than CBD at the higher concentrations in both Jurkat and MOLT-4 cell lines, with IC50 of 31.03 µM (CBDV) and 22.42 µM (CBD) in Jurkat cell lines, and 25.23 µM (CBDV) and 14.18 µM (CBD) in MOLT-4 cell lines. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in cell apoptosis at 16 and 32 µM in CBD, and at 32 µM in CBDV. Interestingly, when comparing CBDV to CBD, there was a significant difference in the suppression of T-cell proliferation at similar concentrations of 16 µM and 32 µM. Lastly, CBDV showed no significant difference in the expression of CD25 and CD69 compared to the vehicle control, while CBD, showed a significant decrease in CD25 and CD69 expression at 32 µM. Although CBDV is a propyl analog of CBD, there were major differences in pharmacodynamics between the two cannabinoids. CBDV showed lower levels of toxicity and a significant decrease in T-cell proliferation compared to CBD in both Jurkat and MOLT-4 cell lines. However, CBDV did not affect T-cell activation while CBD significantly reduced T-cell activation.