UC Riverside receives first grant for cannabis

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Nicholas V. DiPatrizio, of the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, received a $ 744,000 grant from the Tobacco Disease Research Program, administered by the Office of the President of the United States. UC, for impact of long-term exposure to cannabis on metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

Metabolically healthy people have ideal levels of blood glucose, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure and waistline. People with poor metabolic health, on the other hand, have an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Researchers do not have a clear idea of ​​the long-term impact of cannabis use on metabolic health, including diseases such as type 2 diabetes, characterized by higher blood glucose levels than normal .

DiPatrizio's lab will investigate how cannabis affects the stable balance of glucose – its "homeostasis" – in the field of health and disease using a variety of advanced technologies, such as tandem mbad spectrometry.

"Scientists still do not know how exactly long-term or chronic cannabis use affects health and various tobacco-related pathologies, such as type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases," he said. DiPatrizio, badistant professor in biomedical sciences. "We will study in wild-type mice if exposure to cannabis is linked to a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes. We hope that the knowledge gained from this project will help guide public policies based on the science badociated with the impact on health of diseases in the short and long term, long-term cannabis use. "

The three-year grant is the first cannabis grant received on campus, forcing DiPatrizio to acquire an Appendix 1 license from the Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct the research – a first also for UCR.

DiPatrizio explained that although short-term cannabis exposure in rodents and humans increases food consumption, long-term cannabis use is paradoxically linked to lower body weight. Indeed, the long-term use of cannabis in humans can lead to an improvement of certain metabolic parameters, such as the increase in high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, often called "good cholesterol" . As such, his laboratory will also explore the potential benefits of long-term use of cannabis for metabolic health.

"We will also study how important the endocannabinoid system, hijacked by cannabis, is important for maintaining glucose homeostasis and whether exposure to cannabis deregulates the process," DiPatrizio said.

The endocannabinoid system is located throughout the body of mammals, including the brain and all peripheral organs. It participates in the control of many physiological functions, including food intake, energy balance and reward. Endocannabinoids, the body's "natural cannabis", are lipid signaling molecules that enhance consumption by binding to cannabinoid receptors on the body's key-like cells (endocannabinoids) that open open locks (receptors).

DiPatrizio explained that mammalian glucose homeostasis is controlled by the release in the small intestine of incretins, metabolic hormones that stimulate the lowering of blood glucose levels by causing insulin secretion, necessary to maintain a stable blood sugar level.

His research group will evaluate the impact of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, on incretin exposure in wild type and transgenic mice designed to lack cannabinoid receptors in the lining of their small intestine and in pancreatic beta cells. The small intestine and the pancreas, both heavily involved in metabolic control, are known targets of cannabinoids.

DiPatrizio explained that THC, the main ingredient in cannabis, activates cannabinoid receptors on body cells and controls energy homeostasis. Some of the mice in the control group will receive normal nutrition and will remain lean; the rest will be put for 60 days on a diet high in fat and sugar, also called Western diet, to make them obese. Whole cannabis oil extracts, which naturally contain THC and pure THC, will be used in the experiments.

"We will investigate whether THC makes leaner mice more obese with improvements in metabolism," DiPatrizio said. "We expect to find the endocannabinoid system in the small intestine of lean mice controlling incretin release and glucose homeostasis." Furthermore, we suspect that the endocannabinoid system becomes deregulated in mice obese and participates in changes in metabolic function induced by cannabis. "

DiPatrizio will be badociated with the research by PhD students and the staff of his laboratory.

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The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program funds research that improves understanding of tobacco use, prevention and cessation, social, economic and political aspects of tobacco use. tobacco use and tobacco related diseases in California. Funded only by the tobacco tax and individual contributions, the program has funded more than 1,200 research grants on tobacco-related studies, with 95% of revenues being used directly to fund research and education activities.

University of California, Riverside (http: // www.ucr.Edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for a revolutionary exploration of critical issues for Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR has more than 24,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and reached the heart of the Coachella Valley through the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual economic impact of nearly $ 2 billion on the statewide. For more information, send an email to [email protected].