Abstract Background and Purpose Marijuana is the illicit drug most commonly used among pregnant and breastfeeding women. Different studies reported long-term adverse effects induced by in utero exposure to the main component of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), both in rodents and in humans. However, little is known about any potential sex-dependent effects of marijuana consumption during pregnancy on newborns at early developmental ages. Experimental Approach We studied the effects of prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 (WIN; 0.5 mg·kg−1 from GD5 to GD20) on the emotional reactivity and cognitive performance of male and female rat offspring from infancy through adolescence and tested the role of mGlu5 receptor...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are an evolving class of new psychoactive substances (NPS) with structurally diverse compounds emerging each year. Due to the rapid pace at which these drugs enter the market, there is often little or nil information regarding the pharmacology of these substances despite widespread human use. In this study, 12 recently emerged SCRAs (reported between 2018 and 2020) were synthesized, analytically characterized, and pharmacologically evaluated using a live cell-based nanoluciferase complementation reporter assay that monitors in vitro cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) activation via its interaction with β-arrestin 2 (βarr2). All synthesized SCRAs...

Abstract Background and Purpose Cannabis or cannabinoids produce characteristic tetrad effects—analgesia, hypothermia, catalepsy and suppressed locomotion, which are believed to be mediated by the activation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors. Given recent findings of CB2 and GPR55 receptors in the brain, we examined whether these receptors are also involved in cannabinoid action. Experimental Approach We compared Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC)-, WIN55212-2-, or XLR11-induced tetrad effects between wild-type (WT) and each genotype of CB1-, CB2- or GPR55-knockout (KO) mice and then observed the effects of antagonists of these receptors on these tetrad effects in WT mice. Key Results Systemic administration of Δ9-THC, WIN55212-2 or XLR11 produced dose-dependent tetrad effects in...

Abstract Cannabis is widely used as a therapeutic drug, especially by patients suffering from psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the complex interplay between phytocannabinoids and their targets in the human receptome remains largely a mystery, and there have been few investigations into the relationship between the chemical composition of medical cannabis and the corresponding biological activity. In this study, we investigated 59 cannabis samples used by patients for medical reasons. The samples were subjected to extraction (microwave and supercritical carbon dioxide) and chemical analyses, and the resulting extracts were assayed in vitro using the CB1 and CB2 receptors. Using a partial least squares regression analysis, the...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract The cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor and the dopamine type 2 (D2) receptor are co-localized on medium spiny neuron terminals in the globus pallidus where they modulate neural circuits involved in voluntary movement. Physical interactions between the two receptors have been shown to alter receptor signaling in cell culture. The objectives of the current study were to identify the presence of CB1/D2 heteromers in the globus pallidus of C57BL/6J male mice, define how CB1/D2 heteromer levels are altered following treatment with cannabinoids and/or antipsychotics, and determine if fluctuating levels of CB1/D2 heteromers have functional consequences. Using in situ proximity ligation...

Abstract Beyond being one the most widely used psychoactive drugs in the world, cannabis has been identified as an environmental risk factor for psychosis. Though the relationship between cannabis use and psychiatric disorders remains controversial, consistent association between early adolescent cannabis use and the subsequent risk of psychosis suggested adolescence may be a particularly vulnerable period. Previous findings on gene by environment interactions indicated that cannabis use may only increase the risk for psychosis in the subjects who have a specific genetic vulnerability. The type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1), encoded by the CNR1 gene, is a key component of the endocannabinoid system. As the primary endocannabinoid...

Abstract Endocannabinoid signaling depends upon the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous ligands anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, and intracellular proteins that mediate responses via the C-terminal and other intracellular receptor domains. The CB1 receptor regulates and is regulated by associated G proteins predominantly of the Gi/o subtypes, β-arrestins 1 and 2, and the cannabinoid receptor-interacting protein 1a (CRIP1a). Evidence for a physiological role for CRIP1a is emerging as data regarding the cellular localization and function of CRIP1a are generated. Here we summarize the neuronal distribution and role of CRIP1a in endocannabinoid signaling, as well as discuss investigations linking CRIP1a to development, vision and hearing sensory systems, hippocampus...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract The endocannabinoid (EC) system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). With the current study we aimed to verify the modulatory effect of endocannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1)-signaling on perilipin 2 (PLIN2)-mediated lipophagy. Here, we demonstrate that a global knockout of the cannabinoid receptor 1 gene (CB1−/−) reduced the expression of the lipid droplet binding protein PLIN2 in the livers of CB1−/− and hepatitis B surface protein (HBs)-transgenic mice, which spontaneously develop hepatic steatosis. In addition, the pharmacologic activation and antagonization of CB1 in cell culture also caused an induction or reduction of PLIN2, respectively. The decreased PLIN2 expression was associated with suppressed lipogenesis and triglyceride (TG) synthesis and enhanced...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract The cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) is the most abundant G protein-coupled receptor in the brain and plays crucial roles in emotion and behavior by modulating or mediating synaptic transmission and plasticity. Differences in CB1R density between male and female rodents may be associated with distinct behavioral phenotypes. In the rat brain, CB1R expression is significantly lower in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala of estrus females than in males. However, differences in CB1R distribution due to sex over the whole mouse brain are still largely unknown. Here, we systemically investigated the expression of CB1R mRNA in...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease and its characteristic is the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra (SN) of the midbrain. There is hardly any clinically proven efficient therapeutics for its cure in several recent preclinical advances proposed to treat PD. Recent studies have found that the endocannabinoid signaling system in particular the comprised two receptors, CB1 and CB2 receptors, has a significant regulatory function in basal ganglia and is involved in the pathogenesis of PD. Therefore, adding new insights into the biochemical interactions between cannabinoids and other signaling pathways may help develop new pharmacological strategies. Factors of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) are abundantly expressed...