CNR2 as a Radioligand Therapy Target
CNR2, cannabinoid receptor 2, is a cell-surface protein (GPCR). In Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry, CNR2 staining is highest in lymphoma (100% of samples positive), colorectal cancer (100% of samples positive) and cervical cancer (100% of samples positive). Evidence on whether CNR2 internalizes is mixed. Clinical status: Clinical-stage (up to phase 2, any modality).
Is CNR2 a good radioligand therapy target?
Scored against the six criteria that decide whether a protein can become a radioligand therapy:
- ✅ Cell-surface accessibility: Localized to the cell surface, so a radioligand can reach it from circulation.
- ✅ Tumor expression: High IHC staining in lymphoma, 100% of samples positive.
- ⚠️ Internalization: Mixed evidence.
- ✅ Clinical precedent: Clinical-stage (up to phase 2, any modality)
- ❔ Shedding: Not yet assessed.
- ❔ Normal-tissue dosimetry: Check kidney, liver, bone marrow and salivary expression in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas.
CNR2 expression in cancer
Protein expression of CNR2 across 20 cancer types from Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry. The score is a weighted staining intensity from 0 to 1; "% positive" is the share of patient samples with detectable staining.
| Cancer type | IHC score | Level | % positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lymphoma | 0.67 | High | 100% |
| Colorectal Cancer | 0.58 | High | 100% |
| Cervical Cancer | 0.58 | High | 100% |
| Breast Cancer | 0.56 | High | 100% |
| Ovarian Cancer | 0.55 | High | 100% |
| Head and Neck Cancer | 0.50 | Medium | 100% |
| Skin Cancer | 0.42 | Medium | 100% |
| Endometrial Cancer | 0.42 | Medium | 82% |
| Testicular Cancer | 0.42 | Medium | 92% |
| Prostate Cancer | 0.39 | Medium | 64% |
| Melanoma | 0.39 | Medium | 92% |
| Bladder Cancer | 0.39 | Medium | 92% |
| Lung Cancer | 0.37 | Medium | 80% |
| Pancreatic Cancer | 0.36 | Medium | 100% |
| Gastric Cancer | 0.33 | Medium | 91% |
| Neuroendocrine Tumors | 0.33 | Medium | 75% |
| Liver Cancer | 0.25 | Medium | 67% |
| Glioma | 0.18 | Low | 27% |
| Thyroid Cancer | 0.17 | Low | 50% |
| Kidney Cancer | 0.08 | Low | 25% |
Is CNR2 internalized?
Uncertain. Insufficient literature found.
CNR2 clinical trials
Clinical-stage (up to phase 2, any modality). Nuclens hasn't indexed trials for CNR2 yet. Search ClinicalTrials.gov for CNR2 trials.
CNR2 normal tissue expression
Normal-tissue expression in dose-limiting organs (kidney, liver, bone marrow, salivary glands) drives radioligand dosimetry risk. Nuclens is re-validating its normal-tissue values, so they are not shown here yet. See CNR2 in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas, and read how normal-tissue expression predicts radioligand dosimetry risk.
CNR2 gene essentiality (DepMap)
CRISPR knockout effect across 1247 cancer cell lines: 0.03 (not essential). Radioligands kill by radiation, not by blocking the target, so essentiality matters less than for inhibitors. A non-essential target can still be an excellent radioligand target.
Related lymphoma radioligand targets
c-MET (MET) · CD20 (MS4A1) · HER3 (ERBB3) · CD45 (PTPRC) · CD19 · SSTR2 · STEAP2 · CD22
See all radioligand therapy targets in lymphoma.
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Subcellular localization: UniProt via Open Targets (CC BY 4.0 / CC0). Tumor immunohistochemistry: Human Protein Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov (public domain). Gene essentiality: DepMap (CC BY 4.0). Internalization and shedding: AI-extracted from PubMed abstracts, so verify against the cited papers before relying on them. Nuclens is a first-pass triage layer, not a substitute for wet-lab validation or clinical dosimetry. Derived expression data on this page is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.