LB1748 Cannabidiol inhibits lipogenesis by regulating Akt/AMPK-SREBP-1 pathway in sebocytes

Cannabidiol (CBD) is known to relieve pain, stress and inflammation. Acne is one of the most common skin diseases. The pathophysiology of acne involves not only genetic and environmental factors, but also other factors including hyperseborrhea, over keratinization of follicular keratinocytes and overgrowth of C. acnes. Side effect of topical acne therapeutic include skin irritation, erythema and dry skin. Therefore, there are actively making an attempt for less side effects, and effective treatment in acne therapy. The objective of this study, in order to confirm the applicability of CBD as an acne OTC drug, a research on the mechanism of acne was conducted using a standard CBD and high-purity CBD derived from the grown hemp in Korea smart farms. In this study, the inhibitory effect of CBD on lipid synthesis, cell proliferation in sebocytes was examined. And then, we performed that the effect of regulating the expression of key transcription factors related to sebum synthesis. Oil red O staining showed that inhibited by CBD treatment at all doses. TUNEL staining results found that CBD treatment at promoted sebaceous gland cell apoptosis. These data suggest that CBD inhibited cell proliferation, and decreased sebaceous gland size. CBD increases p-AMPK and decrease p-Akt, suggesting that CBD inhibits adipogenesis by regulating the Akt/AMPK-SREBP-1 signaling pathway. We confirmed that CBD inhibits inflammation caused by hyperkeratosis in HaCaT. The levels of CXCL8 and IL-1α cytokines in cells were decreased after CBD treatment. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of the combination of salicylic acid (SA) and CBD was studied. The lipid synthesis was inhibited by combination of SA and CBD treatments in SEB-1. These results suggest that CBD can be used as a substance to alleviate acne by reducing excessive sebum formation.