ArticleBMC medicine2004
Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inhibits lytic replication of gamma oncogenic herpesviruses in vitro.
Article in BMC medicine, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Role of Oncoviruses in Cancer Progression and Emerging Phytochemical-Based Therapies from Medicinal Plants.Molecular biotechnology · 2026Review
- Informing the Cannabis Conjecture: From Life's Beginnings to Mitochondria, Membranes and the Electrome-A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Antiviral activities of hemp cannabinoids.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2023Article
- Antimicrobial and Antiviral (SARS-CoV-2) Potential of Cannabinoids andMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the inhibition of Sindbis virus replication: a preliminary study.Journal of cannabis research · 2021Article
- Review
- Review
- Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol treatment during human monocyte differentiation reduces macrophage susceptibility to HIV-1 infection.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2014Article
- Cannabinoids and Viral Infections.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2010Article
- Recreational drug use and risk of Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV- and HHV-8-coinfected homosexual men.AIDS research and human retroviruses · 2009Article
- Drugs of abuse, immune modulation, and AIDS.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2006Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe major psychoactive cannabinoid compound of marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been shown to modulate immune responses and lymphocyte function. After primary infection the viral DNA genome of gamma herpesviruses persists in lymphoid cell nuclei in a latent episomal circular form. In response to extracellular signals, the latent virus can be activated, which leads to production of infectious virus progeny. Therefore, we evaluated the potential effects of THC on gamma herpesvirus replication.
methodsTissue cultures infected with various gamma herpesviruses were cultured in the presence of increasing concentrations of THC and the amount of viral DNA or infectious virus yield was compared to those of control cultures. The effect of THC on Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication was measured by the Gardella method and replication of herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) of monkeys, murine gamma herpesvirus 68 (MHV 68), and herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) was measured by yield reduction assays. Inhibition of the immediate early ORF 50 gene promoter activity was measured by the dual luciferase method.
resultsMicromolar concentrations of THC inhibit KSHV and EBV reactivation in virus infected/immortalized B cells. THC also strongly inhibits lytic replication of MHV 68 and HVS in vitro. Importantly, concentrations of THC that inhibit virus replication of gamma herpesviruses have no effect on cell growth or HSV-1 replication, indicating selectivity. THC was shown to selectively inhibit the immediate early ORF 50 gene promoter of KSHV and MHV 68.
conclusionsTHC specifically targets viral and/or cellular mechanisms required for replication and possibly shared by these gamma herpesviruses, and the endocannabinoid system is possibly involved in regulating gamma herpesvirus latency and lytic replication. The immediate early gene ORF 50 promoter activity was specifically inhibited by THC. These studies may also provide the foundation for the development of antiviral strategies utilizing non-psychoactive derivatives of THC.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.