Oral CBD treatment is associated to an anti-inflammatory gene expression signature in myeloid cells of people living with HIV

HIV-related comorbidities appear to be related to chronic inflammation, a condition characterizing people living with HIV (PLWH). Prior work indicates that cannabidiol (CBD) might reduce inflammation; however, the genetics underpinning this effect are not well investigated. Our main objective is to detect gene expression alterations in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from PLWH after at least one month of CBD treatment. We collected PBMCs from three HIV-positive subjects at baseline and after CBD treatment (at least 27 days) via single-cell RNA sequencing. We obtained a coherent signature, characterized by an anti-inflammatory activity, of differentially expressed genes in myeloid cells. Our study shows how CBD is associated with alterations of gene expression in myeloid cells after CBD treatment. Overall design: PBMCs from people living with HIV before and after CBD oil treatment were analyzed using scRNAseq.