Search results for "Endocannabinoid"
showing 10 items of 179 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…
TRPV1 channels in nitric oxide-mediated signalling: insight on excitatory transmission in rat CA1 pyramidal neurons
2022
Nitric oxide (NO) is a fascinating signalling molecule implicated in a plethora of biological functions, especially at the synaptic level. Exploring neurotransmission in the hippocampus could be instrumental in the individuation of putative targets for nitric-oxide mediated neuromodulation, especially in terms of the potential repercussions on fundamental processes i.e. synaptic plasticity and excitability-related phenomena. Among these targets, endovanilloid signalling constitutes an object of study since Transient Receptors Vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) channels possess a NO-sensitive gate modulating its activation. Also, NO has been referred to as a mediator for numerous endocannabinoid effec…
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…
Rimonabant: una nueva perspectiva en el tratamiento de las conductas adictivas
2006
Se revisa la farmacología, eficacia clínica, farmacocinética, seguridad y lugar en la terapéutica de rimonabant, un nuevo antagonista selectivo de los receptores cannabinoides CB1.Se realizó una revisión de la literatura primaria obtenida en el MEDLINE (1996 a septiembre del 2005), introduciendo las palabras clave rimonabant, SR 141716, SR 141716A, therapeutic applications, CB1 receptor modeling, obesity, smoking cesattion, endocannabinoid system, y rimonabant pharmacokinetics.Los estudios realizados con el antagonista selectivo del receptor CB1, rimonabant, han demostrado su eficacia clínica sobre la deshabituación al tabaco y sobre la reducción de la ingesta de alimentos y del peso corpor…
Emerging Immnunohistochemical evidence for Direct Peripheral Control of Endocannabinoids on the Gastrointestinal Tract and Pancreas of Obese (fa/fa)a…
2012
This research has the objective to investigate immunohistochemical expression of CB1 receptor and its probable changes in Gastroenteropancreatic system (GEP) of obese and lean Zucker rats and understand the endocannabinoid pathophysiological implications in the obesity. Male obese (fa/fa) and lean Zucker rats 6 weeks old were obtained from Harlan Italy Srl; the rats were sacrificed at 8, 12 and 16 weeks old. Normal rats also were sacrificed. Specimens of stomach, jejunum-ileum and pancreas were fixed in Bouin’s mixture and embedded in paraffin; obtained sections were processed with anti-CB1 (Biosource Europe SA) by Streptavidin-Biotin-Complex Method. The findings show that CB1 receptor is e…
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 …