Due to the unique structures of arvanil and olvanil, the drugs combine certain properties of both cannabinoids and vanilloids, which makes them able to stimulate both TPRV1 and CB1 receptors and causes them to be interesting agents in the setting of carcinoma treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects of arvanil and olvanil when administered alone and in combination with cisplatin (CDDP) and mitoxantrone (MTX), using various primary (A375, FM55P) and metastatic (SK-MEL 28, FM55M2) human malignant melanoma cell lines. The results indicate that both arvanil and olvanil inhibited (dose-dependently) the viability and proliferation of various malignant melanoma cells, as demonstrated by MTT and BrdU assays. The safety profile of both arvanil and olvanil tested in human keratinocytes (HaCaT) and normal human melanocytes (HEMa-LP) revealed that neither arvanil nor olvanil caused significant cytotoxicity in HaCaT and HEMa-LP cell lines in LDH and MTT assays. Isobolographically, it was found that both arvanil and olvanil exerted additive interactions with MTX and antagonistic interactions with CDDP in the studied malignant melanoma cell lines. In conclusion, the combinations of arvanil or olvanil with MTX may be considered as a part of melanoma multi-drug therapy; however, the combination of these compounds with CDDP should be carefully considered due to the antagonistic interactions observed in the studied malignant melanoma cell lines.
Keywords: arvanil; cannabinoids; drug interactions; in vitro; melanoma; olvanil.