Search results for "Endocannabinoid system"
showing 10 items of 153 documents
Central side-effects of therapies based on CB1 cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists: focus on anxiety and depression
2009
Both agonists (e.g. Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, nabilone) and antagonists (e.g. rimonabant, taranabant) of the cannabinoid type-1 (CB(1)) receptor have been explored as therapeutic agents in diverse fields of medicine such as pain management and obesity with associated metabolic dysregulation, respectively. CB(1) receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system and are involved in the modulation of emotion, stress and habituation responses, behaviours that are thought to be dysregulated in human psychiatric disorders. Accordingly, CB(1) receptor activation may, in some cases, precipitate episodes of psychosis and panic, while its inhibition may lead to behaviours reminiscen…
Acetaldehyde, motivation and stress: Behavioral evidence of an addictive ménage à trois
2017
Acetaldehyde contributes to alcohol’s psychoactive effects through its own rewarding properties. Recent studies shed light on the behavioral correlates of acetaldehyde administration and the possible interactions with key neurotransmitters for motivation, reward and stress-related response, such as dopamine and endocannabinoids. This mini review critically examines acetaldehyde psychoactive properties, focusing on behavioral investigations able to unveil acetaldehyde motivational effects and their pharmacological modulation in vivo. Similarly to alcohol, rats spontaneously drink acetaldehyde, whose presence is detected in the brain following chronic self-administration paradigm. Acetaldehyd…
The CB1Cannabinoid Receptor Drives Corticospinal Motor Neuron Differentiation through the Ctip2/Satb2 Transcriptional Regulation Axis
2012
The generation and specification of pyramidal neuron subpopulations during development relies on a complex network of transcription factors. The CB1cannabinoid receptor is the major molecular target of endocannabinoids and marijuana active compounds. This receptor has been shown to influence neural progenitor proliferation and axonal growth, but its involvement in neuronal differentiation and the functional impact in the adulthood caused by altering its signaling during brain development are not known. Here we show that the CB1receptor, by preventing Satb2 (special AT-rich binding protein 2)-mediated repression, increased Ctip2 (COUP-TF interacting protein 2) promoter activity, and Ctip2-po…
CB(1) signaling in forebrain and sympathetic neurons is a key determinant of endocannabinoid actions on energy balance
2010
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a critical role in obesity development. The pharmacological blockade of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB(1)) has been shown to reduce body weight and to alleviate obesity-related metabolic disorders. An unsolved question is at which anatomical level CB(1) modulates energy balance and the mechanisms involved in its action. Here, we demonstrate that CB(1) receptors expressed in forebrain and sympathetic neurons play a key role in the pathophysiological development of diet-induced obesity. Conditional mutant mice lacking CB(1) expression in neurons known to control energy balance, but not in nonneuronal peripheral organs, displayed a lean phenotype and res…
Cannabinoid CB1 receptor in dorsal telencephalic glutamatergic neurons: distinctive sufficiency for hippocampus-dependent and amygdala-dependent syna…
2013
A major goal in current neuroscience is to understand the causal links connecting protein functions, neural activity, and behavior. The cannabinoid CB1 receptor is expressed in different neuronal subpopulations, and is engaged in fine-tuning excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Studies using conditional knock-out mice revealed necessary roles of CB1 receptor expressed in dorsal telencephalic glutamatergic neurons in synaptic plasticity and behavior, but whether this expression is also sufficient for brain functions is still to be determined. We applied a genetic strategy to reconstitute full wild-type CB1 receptor functions exclusively in dorsal telencephalic glutamatergic neurons a…
Mechanisms of endothelial cell activation by endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol
2020
Abstract Background Endothelial dysfunction promotes atherogenesis, vascular inflammation, and thrombus formation. Reendothelialization after angioplasty is required in order to restore vascular function and to prevent stent thrombosis. The endocannabinoid (eCB) 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is a known modulator of inflammation. Earlier studies have demonstrated the relevance of this endocannabinoid in human pathophysiology during coronary artery disease and in murine experimental atherogenesis. However, evidence on the impact of 2-AG on endothelial cell function remains scarce. Methods Endothelial repair was studied in two treatment groups of wildtype mice following electrical denudation o…
Modulators of Endogenous Neuroprotection: Estrogen, Corticotropin-releasing Hormone and Endocannabinoids
2005
Age-associated neurodegenerative disorders are among the most challenging problems of our aging society. Alzheimer’s disease is affecting people with increasing frequency, since there is a clear relationship between the incidence of this detrimental disorder and age. Other neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, stroke and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are also frequently observed in our aging society. For most of these diseases, no causal therapy has yet been identified. Many of the treatments given to patients that are affected by these disorders have different side effects, and therefore the search is on to identify novel molecular approaches that may lead to a more …
Tricks and Tracks in the Identification and Quantification of Endocannabinoids
2013
Abstract The endocannabinoid system serves pivotal roles in a diverse range of physiological and pathophysiological states, including behavior, pain, schizophrenia, obesity, Alzheimer disease, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular disease. A number of endocannabinoids (eCBs) and their receptors have been characterised and identified in a plethora of biological matrices. The eCBs include N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (anandamide), 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, 2-arachidonoyl glyceryl ether (noladin ether), O-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (virodhamine) and N-arachidonoyl dopamine. Advanced targeted mass spectrometry methods, particularly the selected reaction monitoring, has facilitated sensitive quanti…
P4140Myeloid but not endothelial expression of the CB2 receptor promotes atherogenesis in the context of elevated levels of the endocannabinoid 2-ara…
2019
Abstract Background The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is an inflammatory mediator and ligand to the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, which are expressed on myeloid and endothelial cells. 2-AG has recently been described to promote atherogenesis in ApoE-deficient mice. While the CB2 receptor has previously been considered to solely exert anti-inflammatory and atheroprotective effects, newer data have raised the notion, that CB2 might exert atherogenic effects in the context of elevated 2-AG plasma levels. In the present study, we investigated the atherogenic mechanisms of 2-AG and the role of the CB2 receptor on myeloid and endothelial cells in atherogenesis using cell-spec…
The Epigenetics of the Endocannabinoid System
2020
The endocannabinoid system (ES) is a cell-signalling system widely distributed in biological tissues that includes endogenous ligands, receptors, and biosynthetic and hydrolysing machineries. The impairment of the ES has been associated to several pathological conditions like behavioural, neurological, or metabolic disorders and infertility, suggesting that the modulation of this system may be critical for the maintenance of health status and disease treatment. Lifestyle and environmental factors can exert long-term effects on gene expression without any change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA, affecting health maintenance and influencing both disease load and resistance. This potentially …