Search results for "Cannabinoid"
showing 10 items of 323 documents
Production of ceramides causes apoptosis during early neural differentiation in vitro.
2000
To investigate signal transduction pathways leading to apoptosis during the early phase of neurogenesis, we employed PCC7-Mz1 cells, which cease to proliferate and begin to differentiate into a stable pattern of neurons, astroglial cells, and fibroblasts upon incubation with retinoic acid (RA). As part of lineage determination, a sizable fraction of RA-treated cultures die by apoptosis. Applying natural long-chain C(16)-ceramides as well as membrane-permeable C(2)/C(6)-ceramide analogs caused apoptosis, whereas the biologically nonactive C(2)-dihydroceramide did not. Treating PCC7-Mz1 stem cells with a neutral sphingomyelinase or with the ceramidase inhibitor N-oleoylethanolamine elevated t…
Anandamide-induced apoptosis in Chang liver cells involves ceramide and JNK/AP-1 pathway
2006
In the present study we demonstrate that anandamide, the most important endogenous cannabinoid, markedly induced apoptosis in Chang liver cells, an immortalized non-tumor cell line derived from normal liver tissue, while it induced only modest effects in a number of hepatoma cell lines. The apoptotic effect was reduced by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, a membrane cholesterol depletor, suggesting an interaction between anandamide and the membrane microdomains named lipid rafts. Anandamide effects were mediated by the production of ceramide, as demonstrated by experiments performed with the sphingomyelinase inhibitor, desipramine, or with the sphingomyelinase activator, melittin. This conclusion w…
Detection and characterization of emerging psychoactive substances by ion mobility spectrometry
2014
Rapid detection and identification of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) continues to present significant analytical challenges to forensic and analytical chemists. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been traditionally considered as the analytical technique of choice to detect illicit drugs in security points in airports, borderlines and customs. Databases of the reduced mobility (K0 ) values of illicit drugs are available in the scientific literature and they should be completed with data of emerging designer drugs. In this paper, we have evaluated the effect of different measurement conditions and determined the K0 values of an important number of NPS including different families; such …
High Expression of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 on Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells and Multiple Myeloma Cells
2020
Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by aberrant bone marrow plasma cell (PC) proliferation and is one of the most common hematological malignancies. The potential effect of cannabinoids on the immune system and hematological malignancies has been poorly characterized. Cannabidiol (CBD) may be used to treat various diseases. CBD is known to exert immunomodulatory effects through the activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), which is expressed in high levels in the hematopoietic system. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are a heterogeneous population of polyclonal T lymphocytes obtained via ex vivo sequential incubation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with interferon-&gam…
Fast extraction of cannabinoids in marijuana samples by using hard-cap espresso machines
2018
Abstract A simple, quick and low cost procedure was developed for the extraction of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, and cannabinol from marijuana samples, based on the use of a hard-cap espresso extraction with 2-propanol. After extraction, cannabinoids were directly determined after appropriate dilution by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry, reaching a limit of detection from 0.03 to 0.05 mg g−1. Extraction efficiency was evaluated by the comparison of results obtained for seized samples by the proposed method and a reference methodology based on ultrasound-assisted extraction. Moreover, ion mobility was proposed for the rapid and sensitive determination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol …
Simultaneous determination of third-generation synthetic cannabinoids in oral fluids using cyclodextrin-silica porous sorbents
2022
Abstract A microporous material made of cyclodextrin units covalently immobilized into a silica network has found an innovative bioanalytical application in the sample clean-up and simultaneous isolation of three synthetic cannabinoids (ADB-CHMICA, MMB-CHMICA, and MDMB-CHMCZCA) from human oral fluid through solid-phase extraction. The subsequent quantitation is carried out using liquid chromatography coupled to fluorescence detection. The optimized experimental procedure gives recoveries ranging from 76% to 96% in oral fluid samples spiked with the studied cannabinoids at the µg L-1 level. High selectivity is obtained through the extraction procedure due to the presence of cyclodextrin in t…
Role of cannabinoids in the treatment of tinnitus
2016
Tinnitus is a frequent symptom in audiological clinical practice characterized by an abnormal noise perceived in one or both ears or in the head, in which a patient has a conscious hearing percept in absence of external sound. Tinnitus might be caused by a homeostatic response of central dorsal cochlear nucleus auditory neurons that makes them hyperactive in compensation to auditory input loss. One hypothesis suggests that tinnitus is a sensory form of epilepsy that involves the cochlear nucleus and the inferior colliculus, which display impairment in the electrical activity in the auditory system. This alteration determines a synaptic plasticity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus that becomes …
Preclinical evidence of new opioid modulators for the treatment of addiction.
2010
Addiction to opiates is one of the most severe forms of substance dependence, and despite a variety of pharmacological approaches to treat it, relapse is observed in a high percentage of subjects. New pharmacological compounds are necessary to improve the outcome of treatments and reduce adverse side effects. Moreover, drugs that act on the opioid system can also be of benefit in the treatment of alcohol or cocaine addiction. AREA COVERED BY THIS REVIEW: Recent preclinical studies of pharmacological agents for the treatment of opiate addiction (2008 to the present date).The reader will be informed of the latest drugs shown in animal models to modify dependence on opiates and the reinforcing…
Cross-reinstatement between 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and cocaine using conditioned place preference.
2019
Abstract 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a new psychoactive substance (NPS) considered to be a cocaine-like psychostimulant. The substitution of an established illicit drug as cocaine with an NPS is a pattern of use reported among drug users. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cocaine and MDPV in the reinstatement of the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, in order to establish whether there is cross-reinstatement between the two psychostimulants. Four experimental groups of male OF1 mice were subjected to the CPP paradigm: MDPV-MDPV, Cocaine-Cocaine, Cocaine-MDPV, and MDPV-Cocaine. The first drug refers to the substance with which the animal…
Detection of 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Oral Fluid Using the Rapid Stat Point-of-Collection Drug-Testing Device
2010
The Rapid Stat assay, a point-of-collection drug-testing device for detection of amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opiates, methadone, and benzodiazepines in oral fluid, was evaluated for cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants. The Rapid Stat tests (n = 134) were applied by police officers in routine traffic checks. Oral fluid and blood samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, and methylenedioxyamphetamine. The comparison of GC-MS analysis of oral fluid with the Rapid Stat results for cannabis showed a sensitivity of 85%, a spec…