Study: Cannabis May Help Treat Acute Kidney Injury

Study: Cannabis May Help Treat Acute Kidney Injury

Activation of the body’s CB2 receptors – something done naturally through the consumption of cannabis – may help treat acute kidney injury, according to a new study published by the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

“Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is an increasing problem in the clinic and has been associated with increased rates of mortality”, states the study’s abstract. “Currently, therapies to treat AKI are not available, so identification of new targets which, upon diagnosis of AKI, can be modulated to ameliorate renal damage is essential.” In this study, “a novel cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) agonist, SMM-295 [meant to mimic the effects of natural cannabinoids], was designed, synthesized, and tested in vitro and in silico. In vivo testing of the CB2 agonist was performed using a mouse model of bilateral IRI, which is a common model to mimic human AKI.”

“Histological damage assessment 48 hours after reperfusion demonstrated reduced tubular damage in the presence of SMM-295”, claim researchers. “This was consistent with the reduced plasma markers of renal dysfunction, i.e., creatinine and NGAL, in SMM-295 treated mice. Mechanistically, kidneys treated with SMM-295 were shown to have elevated activation of Akt with reduced TUNEL-positive cells compared to vehicle-treated kidney following IRI.”

The study concludes by stating; “These data suggests that selective CB2 receptor activation could be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment for AKI.”

The full study, conducted by researchers at the University of Mississippi and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, can be found by clicking here.