NF-kB signaling

NF-kB signaling is a pathway inside cells that, when switched on, moves the protein NF-kB into the nucleus to turn on genes for inflammation and immune defense.

In a resting cell, NF-kB is held in the cytoplasm by an inhibitor protein called I-kappa-B. Signals such as bacterial components, the cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-1, oxidative stress or ultraviolet light activate an enzyme complex that tags the inhibitor for destruction, freeing NF-kB to enter the nucleus. There it drives the production of cytokines, adhesion molecules, enzymes such as COX-2 and survival factors, and it also switches on its own inhibitor, creating a feedback loop that normally shuts the response down within hours.

Because so many inflammatory genes depend on it, NF-kB is a hub in research on chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease and cancer, and several existing drugs, including corticosteroids and aspirin at high concentrations, act partly by restraining it. CBD has been studied preclinically for effects on NF-kB-related signaling in cells and rodents; those observations are mechanistic and have not been translated into demonstrated effects in people.