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Effects of cannabinoids and their receptors on viral infections
Author(s) -
Tahamtan Alireza,
TavakoliYaraki Masoumeh,
Rygiel Tomasz P.,
MokhtariAzad Talat,
Salimi Vahid
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.24292
Subject(s) - receptor , synthetic cannabinoids , cannabinoid receptor , cannabinoid , viral replication , viral entry , virology , immune system , biology , cannabinoid receptor type 2 , in vivo , immunology , virus , pharmacology , medicine , biochemistry , agonist , microbiology and biotechnology
Cannabinoids, the active ingredient in marijuana, and their derivatives have received remarkable attention in the last two decades because they can affect tumor growth and metastasis. There is a large body of evidence from in vivo and in vitro models showing that cannabinoids and their receptors influence the immune system, viral pathogenesis, and viral replication. The present study reviews current insights into the role of cannabinoids and their receptors on viral infections. The results reported here indicate that cannabinoids and their receptors have different sequels for viral infection. Although activation or inhibition of cannabinoid receptors in the majority of viral infections are proper targets for development of safe and effective treatments, caution is required before using pharmaceutical cannabinoids as a treatment agent for patients with viral infections. J. Med. Virol. 88:1–12, 2016 . © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.