Tag Archives: cannabinoid receptors

A common variation in the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CNR1) gene is associated with pre-eclampsia in the Central European population.

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“Recently it has been proposed that tightly regulated levels of endogenous cannabinoids play a fundamental role in early placental development.

The aim of this study was to investigate associations of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CNR1) gene (rs1049353, rs12720071 and rs806368) and their inferred haplotypes with pre-eclampsia, a severe pregnancy-associated condition characterized by abnormal development and remodeling of spiral decidual arteries…

This is the first study focusing on the relationship between SNPs in the CNR1 gene and pre-eclampsia risk.

Although limited by a relatively small sample size, the study indicates that rs806368 in the CNR1 gene may act as a susceptibility marker for pre-eclampsia in humans.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21129839

Modulation of sweet taste sensitivities by endogenous leptin and endocannabinoids in mice.

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“Leptin is an anorexigenic mediator that reduces food intake by acting on hypothalamic receptor, Ob-Rb. In contrast, endocannabinoids are orexigenic mediators that act via cannabinoid CB1 receptors in hypothalamus, limbic forebrain, and brainstem.

In the peripheral taste system, leptin administration selectively inhibits behavioral, taste nerve and taste cell responses to sweet compounds. Opposing the action of leptin, endocannabinoids enhance sweet taste responses.

Taken together, our results suggest that circulating leptin, but not local endocannabinoids, may be a dominant modulator for sweet taste in lean mice; however, endocannabinoids may become more effective modulators of sweet taste under conditions of deficient leptin signaling, possibly due to increased production of endocannabinoids in taste tissue.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25728242

Peripheral cannabinoid receptor, CB2, regulates bone mass.

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“Here we show that CB2-deficient mice have a markedly accelerated age-related trabecular bone loss and cortical expansion, although cortical thickness remains unaltered.

These changes are reminiscent of human osteoporosis and may result from differential regulation of trabecular and cortical bone remodeling…

These results demonstrate that the endocannabinoid system is essential for the maintenance of normal bone mass by osteoblastic and osteoclastic CB2 signaling.

Hence, CB2 offers a molecular target for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, the most prevalent degenerative disease in developed countries.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334629/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoporosis-2/

 

Cannabinoid receptor type 1 protects against age-related osteoporosis by regulating osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation in marrow stromal cells.

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“Age-related osteoporosis is characterized by reduced bone formation and accumulation of fat in the bone marrow compartment.

Here, we report that the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) regulates this process…

The CB1 receptor is therefore unique in that it regulates peak bone mass through an effect on osteoclast activity, but protects against age-related bone loss by regulating adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19656492

“Cannabis may prevent osteoporosis”  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8199007.stm

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoporosis-2/

Simultaneous inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) shares discriminative stimulus effects with ∆9-THC in mice.

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“Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9 -THC) is a cannabinoid CB1 /CB2 receptor agonist that produces therapeutic effects such as analgesia and anti-emetic effects…

Collectively, the current results show that pharmacological increases in endogenous AEA and 2-AG simultaneously through inhibition of FAAH and MAGL, respectively, mimics the discriminative stimulus effects of Δ9 -THC.”

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2015/02/24/jpet.115.222836.long

Influence of nitric oxide synthase or cyclooxygenase inhibitors on cannabinoids activity in streptozotocin-induced neuropathy.

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“The results of this study seemed to indicate that the interaction between cannabinoid, COX-2 and NOS(s) systems might exist…

Concomitant administration of small doses of CB1 and/or CB2 receptor agonists and COX-2 or NOS inhibitors can be effective in the alleviation of diabetic neuropathic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25712641

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/neuropathic-pain/

The role of cannabinoids in regulation of nausea and vomiting, and visceral pain.

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“Marijuana derived from the plant Cannabis sativa has been used for the treatment of many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and others.

Several cannabinoid receptors, which include the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), CB2, and possibly GPR55, have been identified throughout the GI tract.

These receptors may play a role in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastroprotection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation, and cell proliferation in the gut.

…the regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system has shed new knowledge in this field.

Novel drug targets such as FAAH and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitors appear to be promising in animal models, but more studies are necessary to prove their efficiency.

The promise of emerging drugs that are more selective and peripherally acting suggest that, in the near future, cannabinoids will play a major role in managing an array of GI diseases.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25715910

Are Cannabinoids Effective for Orofacial Pain States?

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“…there is increasing attention being given in the media as well as in the biomedical sciences to the use as analgesic agents of the crude extracts of plants of the genus Cannabis (eg, marijuana) and their active ingredient delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC).

These cannabinoid compounds have been reported in the biomedical literature to be beneficial in the treatment of some types of neuropathic pain and other pain states…

This review has found evidence indicating that they may be effective analgesic agents for neuropathic pain conditions refractory to other therapeutic approaches…

The clinical findings pointing to the usefulness of the cannabinoids for pain relief are supported by a growing body of evidence from basic science investigations addressing the possible efficacy and mechanisms of action of the cannabinoids in animal models of acute or chronic pain.

These preclinical findings add to the growing evidence that cannabinoid receptor agonists may be effective agents for the treatment of neuropathic pain and other types of pain.

They also point to their possible clinical utility in acute or chronic orofacial pain conditions, and thereby suggest an affirmative answer applies to the question posed in the title of this editorial.”

http://www.quintpub.com/journals/ofph/abstract.php?article_id=15025#.VPBsU033-iw

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/pain-2/

Individual differences and vulnerability to drug addiction: a focus on the endocannabinoid system.

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“Vulnerability to drug addiction depends upon the interactions between the biological make-up of the individual, the environment, and age. These interactions are complex and difficult to tease apart.

Since dopamine is involved in the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, it is postulated that innate differences in mesocorticolimbic pathway can influence the response to drug exposure.

In particular, higher and lower expression of dopamine D2 receptors in the ventral striatum (i.e. a marker of dopamine function) have been considered a putative protective and risk factor, respectively, that can influence one’s susceptibility to continued drug abuse as well as the transition to addiction.

This phenomenon, which is phylogenetically preserved, appears to be a compensatory change to increased impulse activity of midbrain dopamine neurons.

Hence, dopamine neuronal excitability plays a fundamental role in the diverse stages of the drug addiction cycle.

In this review, a framework for the evidence that modulation of dopamine neuronal activity plays in the context of vulnerability to drug addiction will be presented.

Furthermore, since endogenous cannabinoids serve as retrograde messengers to shape afferent neuronal activity in a short- and long-lasting fashion, their role in individual differences and vulnerability to drug addiction will be discussed.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25714966

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/addiction/

Neuroprotective Effect of(−)Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol in N-Methyl-d-Aspartate-Induced Retinal Neurotoxicity

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“In glaucoma, the increased release of glutamate is the major cause of retinal ganglion cell death. Cannabinoids have been demonstrated to protect neuron cultures from glutamate-induced death.

In this study, we test the hypothesis that glutamate causes apoptosis of retinal neurons via the excessive formation of peroxynitrite, and that the neuroprotective effect of the psychotropic Δ9-tetrahydroxycannabinol (THC) or nonpsychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) is via the attenuation of this formation…

The neuroprotection by THC and CBD was because of attenuation of peroxynitrite.

The effect of THC was in part mediated by the cannabinoid receptor CB1.

These results suggest the potential use of CBD as a novel topical therapy for the treatment of glaucoma.

THC and CBD, are similarly potent antioxidants that protect neuron cultures from glutamate-induced cell death or oxidative stress…

In addition to possessing neuroprotective or retinal neuroprotective activity… cannabinoids, such as THC, have been demonstrated to induce dose-related reductions in intraocular pressure in human and in animal models. 

This suggests that cannabinoids may offer a multifaceted therapy for glaucoma.

In conclusion, our results indicate that lipid peroxidation and ONOO− formation play an important role in NMDA-induced retinal neurotoxicity and cell loss in the retina, and that THC and CBD, by reducing the formation of these compounds, are effective neuroprotectants.

The present studies could form the basis for the development of new topical therapies for the treatment of glaucoma.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892413/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/glaucoma-2/