“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 reminiscent of depression and anxiety-related disorders. The present review discusses these side-effects, which have to be taken into account in the therapeutic exploitation of the endocannabinoid system.”
Tag Archives: agonists
Anandamide hydrolysis: a new target for anti-anxiety drugs?
“The major psychoactive constituent of cannabis, Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, affects emotional states in humans and laboratory animals by activating brain cannabinoid receptors. A primary endogenous ligand of these receptors is anandamide, the amide of arachidonic acid with ethanolamine. Anandamide is released in selected regions of the brain and is deactivated through a two-step process consisting of transport into cells followed by intracellular hydrolysis. Pharmacological blockade of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which is responsible for intracellular anandamide degradation, produces anxiolytic-like effects in rats without causing the wide spectrum of behavioral responses typical of direct-acting cannabinoid agonists. These findings suggest that anandamide contributes to the regulation of emotion and anxiety, and that FAAH might be the target for a novel class of anxiolytic drugs.”
CB1 cannabinoid receptors mediate anxiolytic effects: convergent genetic and pharmacological evidence with CB1-specific agents.
“Cannabinoids are known to modulate GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission in cortical areas, the former via CB1 and the latter via a novel receptor. Pharmacological data demonstrate that several widely used cannabinoid ligands bind to both receptors, which may explain the inconsistencies in their behavioural effects.
In the present experiments, we studied the effects of the CB1 antagonist… and the cannabinoid agonist… in wild-type as well as in CB1 knockout mice… In wild types, the cannabinoid agonist… caused a decrease in anxiety-like behaviour, which was abolished by the CB1-selective antagonist…
Our studies on the behavioural effects of the cannabinoid antagonist SR-141716A and the CB1 antagonist AM-251 show that the CB1 and the novel cannabinoid receptor mediate anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) and anxiogenic (anxiety) effects, respectively.
This suggests that agonists of the former, or antagonists of the latter, are promising new compounds in the pharmacotherapy of anxiety.”
Differential role of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in memory and anxiety-like responses.
“Cannabinoid agonists are potential therapeutic agents because of their antinociceptive and anxiolytic-like effects…
These results dissociate the role of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in memory consolidation and anxiety and reveal the interest of cannabinoid receptor 2 as a novel target for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.”
Role in Anxiety Behavior of the Endocannabinoid System in the Prefrontal Cortex
“Increasing evidence that low doses of cannabinoid agonists reduce anxiety-like behaviors in mice and rats is being reported, thus suggesting an anxiolytic role for the endogenous cannabinoid signaling. In line with this hypothesis, pharmacological agents that enhance the endogenous cannabinoid signaling exert anxiolytic-like actions…
These findings support an anxiolytic role for physiological increases in AEA in the PFC, whereas more marked increases or decreases of this endocannabinoid might lead to an anxiogenic response due to TRPV1 stimulation or the lack of CB1 activation, respectively.”
The endocannabinoid system in the processing of anxiety and fear and how CB1 receptors may modulate fear extinction.
“The endocannabinoid system recently emerged as an important modulator of many neuronal functions. Among them, the control of anxiety and acquired fear represents nowadays one of the most interesting fields of research. Despite contrasting results obtained by the use of cannabinoid receptor agonists in experimental animals, there is growing evidence that the physiological activation of the endocannabinoid system plays a central role in the control of basal anxiety levels and in the modulation of fear responses. This review will summarise recent data on the role of the endocannabinoid system in most commonly used tests of anxiety and in the processing of acquired fear, with particular attention to its involvement in fear extinction. Finally, a neurobiological model possibly able to implement the role of the endocannabinoid system in these processes will be proposed.”
The endocannabinoid system and Alzheimer’s disease.
“The importance of the role of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in neurodegenerative diseases has grown during the past few years. Mostly because of the high density and wide distribution of cannabinoid receptors of the CB(1) type in the central nervous system (CNS), much research focused on the function(s) that these receptors might play in pathophysiological conditions.
Our current understanding, however, points to much diverse roles for this system. In particular, other elements of the ECS, such as the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) or the CB(2) cannabinoid receptor are now considered as promising pharmacological targets for some diseases and new cannabinoids have been incorporated as therapeutic tools.
Although still preliminary, recent reports suggest that the modulation of the ECS may constitute a novel approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Data obtained in vitro, as well as in animal models for this disease and in human samples seem to corroborate the notion that the activation of the ECS, through the use of agonists or by enhancing the endogenous cannabinoid tone, may induce beneficial effects on the evolution of this disease.”
The development of cannabinoid CBII receptor agonists for the treatment of central neuropathies.
“Cannabinoids have been used in the treatment of nausea and emesis, anorexia and cachexia, tremor and pain associated with multiple sclerosis. These treatments are limited by the psychoactive side-effects of CBI activation. Recently CBII has been described within the CNS, both in microglia and neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs), but with few exceptions, not by neurons within the CNS.
This has suggested that CBII agonists could have potential to treat various conditions without psycho-activity.
This article reviews the potential for CBII agonists as treatments for neurological conditions, with a focus on microglia and NPCs as drug targets. We first discuss the role of microglia in the healthy brain, and then the role of microglia in chronic neuroinflammatory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, as well as in neuroinflammation following acute brain injury such as stroke and global hypoxia. As activation of CBII receptor on microglia results in suppression of the proliferation and activation of microglia, there is potential for the anti-inflammatory properties of CBII agonist to treat neuropathologies that involve heightened microglia activity. In addition, activating CBII receptors may result in an increase in proliferation and affect migration of NPCs.Therefore, it is possible that CBII agonists may assist in the treatment of neuropathologies by increasing neurogenesis…”
The Cannabinoid CB2 Receptor as a Target for Inflammation-Dependent Neurodegeneration
“THE CANNABINOID CB2 RECEPTOR AS A BIORATIONAL TARGET FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEURODEGENERATION. The presence of CB2 receptors in microglia in the human Alzheimer’s diseased brain suggests that CB2 may provide a novel target for a range of neuropathologies.
The first approved cannabinoid drugs were analogues of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). Dronabinol is a natural isomer of THC that is found in the cannabis plant, and Marinol™ contains synthetic dronabinol. Marinol, and another analogue nabilone (Cesamet™ ) are used to prevent nausea and vomiting after treatment with anti-cancer medicines. More recently, GW-100 (Sativex™) which combines nearly equal amounts of Δ9-THC and cannabidiol in a whole plant extract from cultivated cannabis, has been approved in Canada…
We conclude that the administration of CB2 agonists and antagonists may differentially alter microglia-dependent neuroinflammation. CB2 specific compounds have considerable therapeutic appeal over CB1 compounds, as the exclusive expression of CB2 on immune cells within the brain provides a highly specialised target, without the psychoactivity that plagues CB1 directed therapies.
In addition, CB2 activation appears to prevent or decrease microglial activation.
In a rodent model of Alzheimer’s disease microglial activation was completely prevented by administration of a selective CB2 agonist.”
Role of CB2 receptors in neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids.
“CB2 receptors, the so-called peripheral cannabinoid receptor type, were first described in the immune system, but they have been recently identified in the brain in healthy conditions and, in particular, after several types of cytotoxic stimuli. Specifically, CB2 receptors were identified in microglial cells, astrocytes and, to a lesser extent, in certain subpopulations of neurons.
Given the lack of psychoactivity demonstrated by selective CB2 receptor agonists, this receptor becomes an interesting target for the treatment of neurological diseases, in particular, the case of certain neurodegenerative disorders in which induction/up-regulation of CB2 receptors has been already demonstrated. These disorders include Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s chorea, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and others. Interestingly, in experimental models of these disorders, the activation of CB2 receptors has been related to a delayed progression of neurodegenerative events, in particular, those related to the toxic influence of microglial cells on neuronal homeostasis.
The present article will review the evidence supporting that CB2 receptors might represent a key element in the endogenous response against different types of cytotoxic events, and that this receptor type may be a clinically promising target for the control of brain damage in neurodegenerative disorders.”