BACKGROUND The endocannabinoid system is involved in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. However, most of the findings in this area have come from experimental studies in animal models or clinical trials on chronic hepatitis C. The roles of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) in hepatofibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) have not been studied fully. This...

Cannabinoids, as multi‑target mediators, activate cannabinoid receptors and transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels. There is evidence to support a functional interaction of cannabinoid receptors and TRPV channels when they are coexpressed. Human conjunctiva demonstrates widespread cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), CB2 and TRPV channel localization. The aim of the present study ...

Cannabis sativa is the source of a unique set of compounds known collectively as plant cannabinoids or phytocannabinoids. This review focuses on the manner with which three of these compounds, ( )-trans-D-tetrahydrocannabinol (D-THC), ( )cannabidiol (CBD) and ( )-trans-D-tetrahydrocannabivarin (D-THCV), interact with cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. D-THC, the main psychotropic constituent of...

......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v List of Figures and Tables...........................................................................................

1 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK 2 Medical Research Council Mitochondrial Biology Unit, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK 3 Freeman Hospital, Freeman Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE7 7DN, UK 4 Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Cen...

Over the past two decades, our understanding of the endocannabinoid system has greatly improved due to the wealth of results obtained from exploratory studies. Currently, two cannabinoid receptor subtypes have been well-characterized. The cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) is widely expressed in the central nervous system, while the levels of the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) in the brain an...

The cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) has been reported to modulate B cell functions including migration, proliferation and isotype class switching. Since these processes are required for the generation of the germinal center (GC) and antigen-specific plasma and memory cells following immunization with a T-dependent antigen, CB2 has the capacity to alter the quality and magnitude of T-dependent immu...

The human cannabinoid receptors, central cannabinoid receptor (CB1) and peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2), share only 44% amino acid identity overall, yet most ligands do not discriminate between receptor subtypes. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed as a means of mapping the ligand recognition site for the human CB2 cannabinoid receptor. A lysine residue in the third transmembrane domai...

Four hundred and fifty 1-d-old male Lingnan Yellow broiler chickens were used to investigate the effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, immune function, and cecal microflora. The birds were randomly assigned to 5 treatments and offered the same antibiotic-free basal diets for 42 d. The treatments were as follows: no addition (control), 1 × 10(7) cfu C. butyricum/kg of diet (CB1...