Cannabinoid Drugs Can Directly Inhibit HIV In Late-Stage AIDS
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, according to new findings published online in the journal PLoS ONE. This is the first study to reveal how the marijuana receptors found on immune cells-called cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2-can influence the spread of the virus. "We knew that cannabinoid drugs like marijuana can have a therapeutic effect in AIDS patients, but did not understand how they influence the spread of the virus itself," said study author Cristina Costantino, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
- Dr. Cristina Costantino, Postdoctoral Fellow, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Learn more: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120321/Cannabinoid-drugs-can-directly-inhibit-HIV-in-late-stage-AIDS.aspx
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