Background. The endocannabinoids, anandamide(AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol(2-AG), are considered promising potential anticancer agents. In this study, we examined the anticancer effects of AEA and 2-AG in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) cell lines. Methods and Results. Our results showed that AEA effectively inhibited proliferation of HNSCC cells whereas 2-AG did not. The anticancer effect of AEA seemed to be mediated by a receptor-independent mechanism. Inhibitors of AEA intracellular transportation and transfection of HNSCC cells with fatty acid amide hydrolase, a key enzyme in AEA metabolism, reversed AEA-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. We found that COX-2 did not mediate the anticancer effects of AEA; instead we observed an increase in reactive oxygen species(ROS) production following AEA treatment. Moreover, antioxidants partially reversed AEA-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. Conclusions. These findings suggest that AEA might have anticancer effects on HNSCC cells by mediating an increase in ROS levels through a receptor-independent mechanism. Head Neck, 2014.
Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

PMID:

 

24797795

 

[PubMed – as supplied by publisher]