Tag Archives: CB2

Anti-Obesity Effect of the CB2 Receptor Agonist JWH-015 in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

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“The cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) is well known for its immune modulatory role. However, recent localisation of CB2 receptors in metabolically active tissue suggests that the CB2 receptor plays a significant role in energy homeostasis.

This study was designed to investigate the impact of chronic CB2 receptor stimulation on food intake, body weight and mood.

These results demonstrate a role for CB2 receptors in modulating energy homeostasis and obesity associated metabolic pathologies in the absence of any adverse impact on mood.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26588700

Controlled release tablet formulation containing natural δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol.

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“Cannabinoids are increasingly being used in the treatment of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) because of their action on the cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2.

The currently marketed capsule formulations (sesame oil based and crystalline powder) are required to be administered frequently to maintain therapeutic levels, which leads to non-compliance.

In the present study, oral controlled release tablet formulations of Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were prepared using the lipids Precirol® and Compritrol®. Release profiles using THC-lipid matrices and/or with the lipids in the external phase (blend) were evaluated…

The overall results demonstrate the feasibility of preparing oral THC tablets for once a day administration which can improve CINV management.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26585693

Pharmacological benefits of selective modulation of cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) in experimental Alzheimer’s disease.

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“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that pervasively affects the population across the world.

Currently, there is no effective treatment available for this and existing drugs merely slow the progression of cognitive function decline. Thus, massive effort is required to find an intended therapeutic target to overcome this condition.

The present study has been framed to investigate the ameliorative role of selective modulator of cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2), 1-phenylisatin in experimental AD condition…

Hence, this study concludes that CB2 receptor modulation can be a potential therapeutic target for the management of AD.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26577751

Controlled downregulation of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor provides a promising approach for the treatment of obesity and obesity-derived type 2 diabetes.

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“Increased activity of the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a pathogenic factor in visceral obesity, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

The endocannabinoid system is composed of at least two G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), and the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2).

Downregulation of CB1 activity in rodents and humans has proven efficacious to reduce food intake, abdominal adiposity, fasting glucose levels, and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Unfortunately, downregulation of CB1 activity by universally active CB1 inverse agonists has been found to elicit psychiatric side effects, which led to the termination of using globally active CB1 inverse agonists to treat diet-induced obesity.

Interestingly, preclinical studies have shown that downregulation of CB1 activity by CB1 neutral antagonists or peripherally restricted CB1 inverse agonists provided similar anorectic effects and metabolic benefits without psychiatric side effects seen in globally active CB1 inverse agonists.

Furthermore, downregulation of CB1 activity may ease endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial stress which are contributors to obesity-induced insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

This suggests new approaches for cannabinoid-based therapy in the management of obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26498013

Pharmacological activation of CB2 receptors counteracts the deleterious effect of ethanol on cell proliferation in the main neurogenic zones of the adult rat brain.

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“Chronic alcohol exposure reduces endocannabinoid activity and disrupts adult neurogenesis in rodents, which results in structural and functional alterations.

Cannabinoid receptor agonists promote adult neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation…

These results indicated that the specific activation of CB2 receptors rescued alcohol-induced impaired NPC proliferation, which is a potential clinical interest for the risk of neural damage in alcohol dependence.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26483633

Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 Agonist Attenuates Acute Neurogenic Pulmonary Edema by Preventing Neutrophil Migration after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats.

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“We evaluated whether JWH133, a selective cannabinoid type 2 receptor (CB2R) agonist, prevented neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) by attenuating inflammation…

CB2R agonist ameliorated lung permeability by inhibiting leukocyte trafficking and protecting tight junction proteins in the lung of NPE after SAH.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26463937

Endocannabinoids and the Immune System in Health and Disease.

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“Endocannabinoids are bioactive lipids that have the potential to signal through cannabinoid receptors to modulate the functional activities of a variety of immune cells.

Their activation of these seven-transmembranal, G protein-coupled receptors sets in motion a series of signal transductional events that converge at the transcriptional level to regulate cell migration and the production of cytokines and chemokines.

There is a large body of data that supports a functional relevance for 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) as acting through the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) to inhibit migratory activities for a diverse array of immune cell types.

However, unequivocal data that supports a functional linkage of anandamide (AEA) to a cannabinoid receptor in immune modulation remains to be obtained.

Endocannabinoids, as typical bioactive lipids, have a short half-life and appear to act in an autocrine and paracrine fashion.

Their immediate effective action on immune function may be at localized sites in the periphery and within the central nervous system.

It is speculated that endocannabinoids play an important role in maintaining the overall “fine-tuning” of the immune homeostatic balance within the host.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26408161

Genetic Manipulation of the Endocannabinoid System.

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“The physiological and pathophysiological functions of the endocannabinoid system have been studied extensively using transgenic and targeted knockout mouse models.

The first gene deletions of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor were described in the late 1990s, soon followed by CB2 and FAAH mutations in early 2000.

These mouse models helped to elucidate the fundamental role of endocannabinoids as retrograde transmitters in the CNS and in the discovery of many unexpected endocannabinoid functions, for example, in the skin, bone and liver.

We now have knockout mouse models for almost every receptor and enzyme of the endocannabinoid system.

Conditional mutant mice were mostly developed for the CB1 receptor, which is widely expressed on many different neurons, astrocytes and microglia, as well as on many cells outside the CNS.

These mouse strains include “floxed” CB1 alleles and mice with a conditional re-expression of CB1. The availability of these mice made it possible to decipher the function of CB1 in specific neuronal circuits and cell populations or to discriminate between central and peripheral effects.

Many of the genetic mouse models were also used in combination with viral expression systems.

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing genetic models and to summarize some of the most important discoveries that were made with these animals.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26408160

A Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Agonist Prevents Thrombin-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Damage via the Inhibition of Microglial Activation and Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression in Rats.

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“Thrombin mediates the life-threatening cerebral edema and blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage that occurs after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

We previously found that the selective cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) agonist JWH-133 reduced brain edema and neurological deficits following germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH).

We explored whether CB2R stimulation ameliorated thrombin-induced brain edema and BBB permeability as well as the possible molecular mechanism involved.

The results demonstrated that JWH-133 administration significantly decreased thrombin-induced brain edema and reduced the number of Iba-1-positive microglia…

We demonstrated that CB2R stimulation reduced thrombin-induced brain edema and alleviated BBB damage.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26376816

Pro-inflammatory obesity in aged cannabinoid-2 receptor deficient mice.

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“Cannabinoid-1 receptor signaling increases the rewarding effects of food intake and promotes the growth of adipocytes, whereas CB2 possibly opposes these pro-obesity effects by silencing the activated immune cells that are key drivers of the metabolic syndrome.

Pro- and anti-orexigenic cannabimimetic signaling may become unbalanced with age because of alterations of the immune and endocannabinoid system…

CB2 agonists may fortify CB2-mediated anti-obesity signaling without the risk of anti-CB1 mediated depression that caused the failure of rimonabant.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26303348