Endocannabinoids and liver disease. IV. Endocannabinoid involvement in obesity and hepatic steatosis.

Endocannabinoids and Liver Disease. III. Endocannabinoid involvement in obesity and hepatic steatosis

[A role for the endocannabinoid system in hepatic steatosis].

The endocannabinoid system (SEC) is an important modulator of several metabolic functions. This system is composed by cannabinoid receptors type 1 and 2 (RCB1 and RCB2), their endogenous ligands, known as endocannabinoids, and the enzymes involved in their synthesis and degradation. A deregulated SEC originates metabolic alterations in several tissues, resulting in the typical manifestations of...

Hepatic CB1 receptor is required for development of diet-induced steatosis, dyslipidemia, and insulin and leptin resistance in mice.

Diet-induced obesity is associated with fatty liver, insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and changes in plasma lipid profile. Endocannabinoids have been implicated in the development of these associated phenotypes, because mice deficient for the cannabinoid receptor CB1 (CB1-/-) do not display these changes in association with diet-induced obesity. The target tissues that mediate these effec...

Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 Functional Variant Influences Liver Damage in Children with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comprises a spectrum of disease ranging from simple steatosis to inflammatory steatohepatitis (NASH) with different degrees of fibrosis that can ultimately progress to cirrhosis. Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of the endocannabinoid-system in liver disease and related complications. In particular, hepatoprotective properties for Cannabin...

Endocannabinoids and liver disease. II. Endocannabinoids in the pathogenesis and treatment of liver fibrosis.

Hepatic fibrosis is the response of the liver to chronic injury and is associated with portal hypertension, progression to hepatic cirrhosis, liver failure, and high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. On a molecular level, a large number of signaling pathways have been shown to contribute to the activation of fibrogenic cell types and the subsequent accumulation of extracellular matrix in t...