The type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) was recently shown to mediate neuroprotection in ischemic injury. However, the role of CB2Rs in the central nervous system, especially neuronal and glial CB2Rs in the cortex, remains unclear. We, therefore, investigated anti-ischemic mechanisms of cortical CB2R activation in various ischemic models. In rat cortical neurons/glia mixed cultures, a CB2R agonist, trans-caryophyllene (TC), decreased neuronal injury and mitochondrial depolarization caused by oxygen-glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R); these effects were reversed by the selective CB2R antagonist, AM630, but not by a type 1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, AM251. Although it lacked free radical scavenging and antioxidant enzyme induction activities, TC reduced OGD/R-evoked...

Background: Experimental animal models of migraine have suggested the existence of interactions between the endocannabinoid system and pain mediation in migraine. Extensive evidence has demonstrated a role for the cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptor in antinociception. However, recent research suggests that also CB2 receptors, especially located outside the central nervous system, play a role in the perception of pain. Systemic administration of nitroglycerin (NTG) consistently induces spontaneous-like headache attacks in migraneurs; in the rat, systemic NTG induces a condition of hyperalgesia, probably through the activation of cerebral/spinal structures involved in nociceptive transmission. In this study we evaluated the role of CB2 receptors in two animal models...

Theiler’s virus infection of the CNS induces an immune-mediated demyelinating disease in susceptible mouse strains and serves as a relevant infection model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). Cannabinoids may act as immunosuppressive compounds that have shown therapeutic potential in chronic inflammatory disorders. Using the Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus model, we report here that treatment with the synthetic cannabinoids WIN 55,212–2, ACEA, and JWH-015 during established disease significantly improved the neurological deficits in a long-lasting way. At a histological level, cannabinoids reduced microglial activation, abrogated major histocompatibility complex class II antigen expression, and decreased the number of CD4infiltrating T cells in the spinal cord. Both...