A new mechanism for cannabidiol in regulating the one-carbon cycle and methionine levels in Dictyostelium and in mammalian epilepsy models

Perry, Christopher J., Finch, Paul, Müller-Taubenberger, Annette, Leung, Kit-Yi, Warren, Eleanor C., Damstra-Oddy, Joseph, Sharma, Devdutt, Patra, Pabitra H., Glyn, Sarah, Boberska, Joanna, Stewart, Balint, Baldwin, Amy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2162-3771, Piscitelli, Fabiana, Harvey, Robert J., Harwood, Adrian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3124-5169, Thompson, Christopher, Claus, Sandrine P., Greene, Nicholas D. E., McNeish, Alister J., Williams, Claire M., Whalley, Benjamin J. and Williams, Robin S. B. 2020. A new mechanism for cannabidiol in regulating the one-carbon cycle and methionine levels in Dictyostelium and in mammalian epilepsy models. British Journal of Pharmacology 177 (4) , pp. 912-928. 10.1111/bph.14892

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Abstract

Epidiolex™, a form of highly purified cannabidiol (CBD) derived from Cannabis plants, has demonstrated seizure control activity in patients with Dravet syndrome, without a fully elucidated mechanism of action. We have employed an unbiased approach to investigate this mechanism at a cellular level. We use a tractable biomedical model organism, Dictyostelium, to identify a protein controlling the effect of CBD and characterize this mechanism. We then translate these results to a Dravet syndrome mouse model and an acute in vitro seizure model. CBD activity is partially dependent upon the mitochondrial glycine cleavage system component, GcvH1 in Dictyostelium, orthologous to the human glycine cleavage system component H protein, which is functionally linked to folate one‐carbon metabolism (FOCM). Analysis of FOCM components identified a mechanism for CBD in directly inhibiting methionine synthesis. Analysis of brain tissue from a Dravet syndrome mouse model also showed drastically altered levels of one‐carbon components including methionine, and an in vitro rat seizure model showed an elevated level of methionine that is attenuated following CBD treatment. Our results suggest a novel mechanism for CBD in the regulating methionine levels and identify altered one‐carbon metabolism in Dravet syndrome and seizure activity.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Additional Information:	Published in - Special Issue: Themed Section: Hydrogen Sulfide in Biology & Medicine. Guest Editors: Andreas Papapetropoulos, John L. Wallace and Rui Wang
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0007-1188
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 January 2020
Date of Acceptance:	17 September 2019
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 16:29
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/128729

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