CBD might help prime cells against COVID

Preparing for an online start to the winter term: for more information. CBD in therapeutic amounts seem to increase the innate anti-viral system of cells readiness to respond to viral infection Synthetic cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound also found in the cannabis plant, appears to prime the innate immune system of cells, potentially offering protection against pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. Researchers found that synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) augments the anti-viral response of cells to three key proteins produced by the SARS-CoV-2 genome - which was, until now, an unknown effect. The researchers studied these proteins in human kidney cells , both alone and in combination with CBD, as well as the effects of CBD in healthy control cells. "When cells in the lungs or the digestive tract are infected with a virus, they have an ability to sense and respond, even before the immune system notices a virus is present," said Robin Duncan , lead investigator and a professor in the University of Waterloo's Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. "They do this by activating innate responses inside of cells, which form the first line of defence. In the case of COVID-19, however, this response isn't very good, which has contributed to high infection rates.