scholarly journals Jekyll and Hyde: Two Faces of Cannabinoid Signaling in Male and Female Fertility

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibin Wang ◽  
Sudhansu K. Dey ◽  
Mauro Maccarrone
Keyword(s):  
Cannabinoid Receptors ◽  
Preimplantation Embryo ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Lipid Mediators ◽  
Female Fertility ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Preimplantation Embryo Development ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Complicated Process

Mammalian reproduction is a complicated process designed to diversify and strengthen the genetic complement of the offspring and to safeguard regulatory systems at various steps for propagating procreation. An emerging concept in mammalian reproduction is the role of endocannabinoids, a group of endogenously produced lipid mediators, that bind to and activate cannabinoid receptors. Although adverse effects of cannabinoids on fertility have been implicated for years, the mechanisms by which they exert these effects were not clearly understood. With the identification of cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoid ligands, their key synthetic and hydrolytic pathways, and the generation of mouse models missing cannabinoid receptors, a wealth of information on the significance of cannabinoid/endocannabinoid signaling in spermatogenesis, fertilization, preimplantation embryo development, implantation, and postimplantation embryonic growth has been generated. This review focuses on various aspects of the endocannabinoid system in male and female fertility. It is hoped that a deeper insight would lead to potential clinical applications of the endocannabinoid signaling as a target for correcting infertility and improving reproductive health in humans.

scholarly journals The role of sex steroid hormones, cytokines and the endocannabinoid system in female fertility

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Karasu ◽  
T. H. Marczylo ◽  
M. Maccarrone ◽  
J. C. Konje
Keyword(s):  
Steroid Hormones ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Sex Steroid Hormones ◽  
Female Fertility ◽  
Sex Steroid

scholarly journals Anandamide elevation in cerebrospinal fluid in initial prodromal states of psychosis

2009 ◽  
Vol 194 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Koethe ◽  
Andrea Giuffrida ◽  
Daniela Schreiber ◽  
Martin Hellmich ◽  
Frauke Schultze-Lutter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Cannabinoid Receptors ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Structural Analog ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Lipid Binding ◽  
Liquid Chromatograph ◽  
Early Schizophrenia

SummaryAnandamide is a bioactive lipid binding to cannabinoid receptors. A homeostatic role for anandamide has been suggested in schizophrenia. We investigated its role in initial prodromal states of psychosis. We measured the levels of anandamide and its structural analog oleoylethanolamide in cerebrospinal fluid and serum of patients in the initial prodromal state (n=27) alongside healthy volunteers (n=81) using high-performance liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometry. Cerebrospinal anandamide levels in patients were significantly elevated. Patients with lower levels showed a higher risk for transiting to psychosis earlier. This anandamidergic up-regulation in the initial prodromal course may suggest a protective role of the endocannabinoid system in early schizophrenia.

scholarly journals The Endocannabinoid System Contributes to Electroacupuncture Analgesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iona J. MacDonald ◽  
Yi-Hung Chen
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cannabinoid Receptors ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Antinociceptive Effect ◽  
Synthetic Cannabinoids ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Extensive Involvement ◽  
Effective Analgesia

The extensive involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in vital physiological and cognitive processes of the human body has inspired many investigations into the role of the ECS and drugs, and therapies that target this system and its receptors. Activation of cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) by cannabinoid treatments, including synthetic cannabinoids, alleviates behavioral responses to inflammatory and neuropathic pain. An increasing body of scientific evidence details how electroacupuncture (EA) treatments achieve effective analgesia and reduce inflammation by modulating cannabinoid signaling, without the adverse effects resulting from synthetic cannabinoid administration. CB1 receptors in the ventrolateral area of the periaqueductal gray are critically important for the mechanisms of the EA antinociceptive effect, while peripheral CB2 receptors are related to the anti-inflammatory effects of EA. This review explores the evidence detailing the endocannabinoid mechanisms involved in EA antinociception.

Peripheral analgesia involves cannabinoid receptors

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Desroches
Keyword(s):  
Cannabinoid Receptors ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Endocannabinoid System ◽  
Cb1 Receptor ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Cb1 Receptors ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor ◽  
Peripheral Analgesia

This landmark paper by Agarwal and colleagues was published in 2007, when the exact contribution of the activation of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1) receptors expressed on the peripheral terminals of nociceptors in pain modulation was still uncertain. At that time, while it was clearly demonstrated that the central nervous system (CNS) was involved in the antinociceptive effects induced by the activation of the CB1 receptor, many strains of mice in which the gene encoding the CB1 receptor was deleted by conditional mutagenesis were used to study the specific role of these receptors in pain. Creating an ingenious model of genetically modified mice with a conditional deletion of the CB1 receptor gene exclusively in the peripheral nociceptors, Agarwal and colleagues were the first to unequivocally demonstrate the major role of this receptor in the control of pain at the peripheral level. In fact, these mutant mice lacking CB1 receptors only in sensory neurons (those expressing the sodium channel Nav1.8) have been designed to highlight that CB1 receptors on nociceptors, and not those within the CNS, constitute an important target for mediating local or systemic (but not intrathecal) cannabinoid analgesia. Overall, they have clarified the anatomical locus of cannabinoid-induced analgesia, highlighted the potential significance of peripheral CB1-mediated cannabinoid analgesia, and revealed important insights into how the peripheral endocannabinoid system works in controlling both inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain.

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