The cumulative effect of cannabinoids on the immune system in IBD mouse models
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, and current therapies often rely on immunosuppression with limited long-term success. To explore alternative strategies, we examined the potential of cannabinoids to modulate both adaptive and innate immune pathways relevant to IBD. Previous work in our lab showed that cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) affected the adaptive immune system by reducing pro-inflammatory T cell responses, while a combination of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) acted on innate immunity by limiting CXCR4-dependent recruitment of inflammatory cells to the gut. We hypothesized that combining these compounds might provide additive or synergistic benefits by targeting complementary arms of the immune system. Using both acute and chronic DSS-induced colitis models in mice, we assessed disease severity under separate and combined treatments. While each treatment effectively reduced disease severity, the combination did not yield additive effects, pointing the need for further exploration of cannabinoids in gut inflammation
