Two types of cannabinoid receptor have been cloned and characterized. Whereas CB1 receptors are ubiquitously expressed in neurons of the CNS, CB2 receptors have been thought to be absent from the CNS. Recent data now question this notion and support the expression of CB2 receptors in microglial cells, astrocytes and even some neuron subpopulations. This discrete distribution makes CB2 receptors...

OBJECTIVE This is the first study to analyze the impact of the rs35761398 variant of the CNR2 gene leading to the substitution of GLN (Q) of codon 63 of the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) with ARG (R) on the clinical presentation of chronic hepatitis in HIV/HCV coinfected patients. METHODS Enrolled in this study were 166 consecutive HIV/HCV coinfected patients, naïve for HCV treatment. A pathol...

1Wellcome/Cancer Research Campaign Institute of Developmental Biology and Cancer, Cambridge CB2 1QR, United Kingdom, and Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QR, United Kingdom, 2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom, and 3Medical Research Council Cambridge Center ...

Michael J. Booth,†,∥,⊥ Eun-Ang Raiber,†,∥ and Shankar Balasubramanian*,†,‡,§ †Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW United Kingdom ‡Cambridge Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre, Cancer Research U.K., Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0RE United Kingdom School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB...

1 Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, R3 Clinical Neurosciences (Box 83), Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road, Cambridge. CB2 0QQ 2 Department of Stroke Medicine, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, Cambridge. CB2 0QQ 3 Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundatio...

To whom correspondence should be addressed. Leila M. Luheshi, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK, [email protected]; Damian. C. Crowther, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK, [email protected]; Christopher M. Dobson, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, C...

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the joint is a prevalent disease accompanied by chronic, debilitating pain. Recent clinical evidence has demonstrated that central sensitization contributes to OA pain. An improved understanding of how OA joint pathology impacts upon the central processing of pain is crucial for the identification of novel analgesic targets/new therapeutic strategies. Inhibitory cannabino...

Two cannabinoid receptors have been identified to date; one is located predominantly in the central nervous system (CB1), whereas the other is located exclusively in the periphery (CB2). The purposes of this study were to explore further the binding requirements of the CB2 receptor and to search for compounds displaying distinct affinities for either cannabinoid receptor. The binding affinities...

Cannabinoids suppress neuropathic pain through activation of cannabinoid CB1 and/or CB2 receptors; however, unwanted CB1-mediated cannabimimetic effects limit clinical use. We asked whether CP55,940 [(-)-3-[2-hydroxy-4-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl]-4-(3-hydroxypropyl)cyclohexanol], a potent cannabinoid that binds with similar affinity to CB1 and CB2 in vitro, produces functionally separable CB1- ...

Collybistin (CB) is a guanine-nucleotide-exchange factor (GEF) selectively activating Cdc42. CB mutations cause X-linked mental retardation due to defective clustering of gephyrin, a postsynaptic protein associated with both glycine and GABA(A) receptors. Using a combination of biochemistry and cell biology we provide novel insights into the roles of the CB2 splice variants, CB2(SH3+) and CB2(S...