Opioid abuse is a growing global problem. Current therapies for opioid target withdrawal symptoms and have several adverse side effects. There are no treatments to address opioid-induced neural adaptations associated with addiction. Preclinical research demonstrates interactions between the endogenous cannabinoid systems, suggesting that cannabinoids may be used treat addiction dependence. The ...

Introduction: It has been shown that administration of WIN55,212-2, a cannabinoid receptor agonist, into the basolateral amygdala (BLA), dose-dependently increases the thermal latency to withdrawal in the tail-.ick test and decreases pain related behaviors in both phases of the formalin test. Recent human and animal imaging data suggest that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an important neural su...

The basal ganglia, a brain structure critical for sensorimotor and motivational aspects of behavior, contain very high levels of CB1 cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are activated by endogenous lipophilic ligands, and they are thought to mediate behavioral effects of cannabinoid drugs. To evaluate the role of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the regulation of basal ganglia pathways, w...

We report a type of synaptic modulation that involves retrograde signaling from postsynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) to presynaptic cannabinoid receptors. Activation of mGluR subtype 1 (mGluR1) expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) reduced neurotransmitter release from excitatory climbing fibers. This required activation of G proteins but not Ca2+ elevation in postsynap...

The identification of peripherally expressed CB2 receptors and reports that the selective activation of cannabinoid CB2 receptors produces antinociception without traditional cannabinergic side effects suggests that selective cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonists might be useful in the management of pain. In a rat hindpaw incision model, we examined the antiallodynic activity of the selective canna...

Introduction: Nucleus cuneiformis (NCF), as part of descending pain inhibitory system, cooperates with periaqueductal gray (PAG) and rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) in supraspinal modulation of pain. Cannabinoids have analgesic effects in the PAG, RVM and NCF. The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1(TRPV1) can be activated by anandamide and WIN55,212-2 as a cannabinoid receptor ago...

Two types of cannabinoid receptor have been discovered so far, CB(1) (2.1: CBD:1:CB1:), cloned in 1990, and CB(2) (2.1:CBD:2:CB2:), cloned in 1993. Distinction between these receptors is based on differences in their predicted amino acid sequence, signaling mechanisms, tissue distribution, and sensitivity to certain potent agonists and antagonists that show marked selectivity for one or the oth...

duce their effects via activating cannabinoid receptors; they include the phytocannabinoids (herbal cannabinoids/natural cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant), synthetic cannabinoids, and endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) (1, 2). Cannabis, also known as marijuana, has been used as both a recreational and medicinal drug for centuries. Pain management is the most important among the ...

Studies have shown that cannabinoid CB2 receptors are involved in wound repair, however, its physiological roles in fibrogenesis remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the capacity of cannabinoid CB2 receptors in the regulation of skin fibrogenesis during skin wound healing was investigated. To assess the function of cannabinoid CB2 receptors, skin excisional BALB/c mice were treated wi...