Mammalian tissues express at least two types of cannabinoid receptor, CB1 and CB2, both G protein coupled. CB1 receptors are expressed predominantly at nerve terminals where they mediate inhibition of transmitter release. CB2 receptors are found mainly on immune cells, one of their roles being to modulate cytokine release. Endogenous ligands for these receptors (endocannabinoids) also exist. Th...

Recent developments have implicated cannabinoid CB1 receptors as a novel target for a new class of therapeutic agents used to treat drug addiction. CB1 receptors are expressed in the motivational circuitry of the brain and modulate drug seeking. Blockade of the CB1 receptor is particularly effective in reducing cue-induced reinstatement of drug seeking, an animal analogue of cue-induced relapse...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Anandamide is an endocannabinoid that evokes hypotension by interaction with peripheral cannabinoid CB1 receptors and with the perivascular transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 protein (TRPV1). As anandamide has been implicated in the vasodilated state in advanced cirrhosis, the study investigated whether the mesenteric bed from cirrhotic rats has an altered and sel...

Type-1 cannabinoid (CB1) and leptin (ObR) receptors regulate metabolic and astroglial functions, but the potential links between the two systems in astrocytes were not investigated so far. Genetic and pharmacological manipulations of CB1 receptor expression and activity in cultured cortical and hypothalamic astrocytes demonstrated that cannabinoid signaling controls the levels of ObR expression...

Cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) have recently emerged as novel mediators of liver diseases. Endogenous activation of CB1 receptors promotes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and progression of liver fibrosis associated with chronic liver injury; in addition, CB1 receptors contribute to the pathogenesis of portal hypertension and cirrhot...

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...

Despite the profound effect of cannabinoids on motor function, and their therapeutic potential in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, the cellular and subcellular distributions of striatal CB1 receptors are not well defined. Here, we show that CB1 receptors are primarily located on GABAergic (vesicular GABA transporter-positive) and glutamatergic [vesicular glutamate transporter-1 (VGLUT-1)-...

Corticostriatal circuits mediate various aspects of goal-directed behavior and are critically important for basal ganglia-related disorders. Activity in these circuits is regulated by the endocannabinoid system via stimulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors. CB1 receptors are highly expressed in projection neurons and select interneurons of the striatum, but expression levels vary considerably be...

Cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 CB2, respectively) play an important role in maintaining the integrity of blood–brain barrier (BBB). On other hand, BBB dysfunction is a common feature drug-resistant epilepsy. The focus present study was to characterize protein expression levels Gαi/o protein-induced activation by CB1 CB2 microvascular endothelial cells (MECs) isolated from brain patients wit...

Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are a heterogeneous group of substances with a high affinity for cannabinoid receptors. Unlike Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), synthetic cannabinoids are incredibly potent, highly productive, have more affinity for the Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), and Cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2), and are designed to accelerate the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol. Also, the...