Abstract
Identifying candidate drugs effective in the new coronavirus disease
2019 (Covid-19) is crucial, pending a vaccine against SARS-CoV2. We
suggest the hypothesis that Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic
phytocannabinoid, has the potential to limit the severity and
progression of the disease for several reasons: 1) High-CBD Cannabis
Sativa extracts are able to downregulate the expression of the two key
receptors for SARS-CoV2 in several models of human epithelia 2) CBD
exerts a wide range of immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects
and it can mitigate the uncontrolled cytokine production featuring Acute
Lung Injury 3) Being a PPARΥ agonist, it can display a direct antiviral
activity 4) PPARΥ agonists are regulators of fibroblast/myofibroblast
activation and can inhibit the development of pulmonary fibrosis, thus
ameliorating lung function in recovered patients. We hope our
hypothesis, corroborated by several preclinical evidence, will inspire
further targeted studies to test CBD as a support drug against the
COVID-19 pandemic.