Abstract Contact hypersensitivity (CHS) is an experimental model of human allergic contact dermatitis, one the representative skin diseases, where NLRP3 inflammasome plays a crucial role. Although regulation activity by cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) has been shown in metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, role CB1R CHS unclear. Here, we investigate putative using selective anta...

Growing evidence supports the idea that in addition to their well established role in the immune system, chemokines might play a role in both normal and pathological brain function, and the chemokine network could interact with other neuromodulators. The chemokine stromal cell-derived growth factor (SDF)-1alpha/CXCL12, a member of the CXC chemokine family, was tested for its possible effect on ...

The effect of the endogenous cannabinoid ligand anandamide on the function of the cloned alpha7 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor expressed in Xenopus oocytes was investigated by using the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. Anandamide reversibly inhibited nicotine (10 microM) induced-currents in a concentration-dependent manner (10 nM to 30 microM), with an IC50 value of...

Cannabinoids exert various biological effects that are either receptor-mediated or independent of receptor signaling. Mitochondrial effects of cannabinoids were interpreted either as non-receptor-mediated alteration of mitochondrial membranes, or as indirect consequences of activation of plasma membrane type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1). Recently, CB1 receptors were confirmed to be localized t...

Over the past few years, advances in the investigation of the neurochemical circuits involved in the development and treatment of alcohol dependence have identified peptides and receptors as potential key targets in the treatment of problems related to alcohol consumption. The endogenous opioid system is modified by alcohol intake in areas of the brain related to reward systems, and differentia...

Studies have shown that cannabinoid CB2 receptors are involved in wound repair, however, its physiological roles in fibrogenesis remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the capacity of cannabinoid CB2 receptors in the regulation of skin fibrogenesis during skin wound healing was investigated. To assess the function of cannabinoid CB2 receptors, skin excisional BALB/c mice were treated wi...

Cannabis (i.e., marijuana and cannabinoids) is the most commonly used illicit drug in developed countries, and the lifetime prevalence of marijuana dependence is the highest of all illicit drugs in the United States. To provide clues for finding effective pharmacological treatment for cannabis-dependent patients, we examined the effects and possible mechanism of lithium administration on the ca...

Cannabinoid receptors are widely distributed in the nuclei of the extrapyramidal motor and mesolimbic reward systems; their exact functions are, however, not known. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of cannabinoids on the electrically evoked release of endogenous dopamine in the corpus striatum and the nucleus accumbens. In rat brain slices dopamine release elicited b...

The cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, are members of the G-protein coupled receptor family and share many of this family's structural features. A highly conserved aspartic acid residue in the second transmembrane domain of G-protein coupled receptors has been shown for many of these receptors to be functionally important for agonist binding and/or G-protein coupling. To determine whether this...

BACKGROUND Although a number of clinical and preclinical studies have demonstrated analgesic effects of cannabinoid treatments, there are also instances when cannabinoids have had no effect or even exacerbated pain. The observed pro-nociceptive effects appear to be due to cannabinoid-induced disinhibition of afferent synaptic input to nociceptive circuits. To better understand how cannabinoid-m...