The effect of anandamide, an endogenous ligand for central (CB1) and peripheral (CB2) cannabinoid receptors, was investigated on the growth of the murine IL-6-dependent lymphoid cell line B9 and the murine IL-3-dependent myeloblastic cell line FDC-P1. In conditions of low serum level, anandamide potentiated the growth of both cytokine-dependent cell lines. Comparison with other fatty acid canna...

We examined the receptor subtypes and signal transduction mechanisms contributing to the estrogenic modulation of cannabinoid-induced changes in energy balance. Food intake and, in some cases, O2 consumption, CO2 production and the respiratory exchange ratio were evaluated in ovariectomized female guinea pigs treated s.c. with the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 or its cremephor/ethan...

The effects of cannabinoid agonists on noxious heat-evoked firing of 62 spinal wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons were examined in urethan-anesthetized rats (1 cell/animal). Noxious thermal stimulation was applied with a Peltier device to the receptive fields in the ipsilateral hindpaw of isolated WDR neurons. To assess the site of action, cannabinoids were administered systemically in intact and...

Lithium (Li), a glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor, has used to attenuate the cannabinoid-induced dependence/withdrawal signs, but molecular mechanisms related to this are unclear. Recent studies indicate the involvement of upstream extracellular signal kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) and downstream GSK-3β pathways in the development of cannabinoid-induced dependence. This is mediated through ca...

BACKGROUND Characterization of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating the self-renewal/division and differentiation of stem cells is crucial in determining embryonic stem (ES) cell fate. ES cells differentiate into multiple hematopoietic lineages during embryoid body (EB) formation in vitro, which provides an experimental platform to define the molecular mechanisms controlling germ layer fa...

Cannabinoid receptors (nomenclature as agreed by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on Receptors [119]) are activated endogenous ligands that include N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), N-homo-γ-linolenoylethanolamine, N-docosatetra-7,10,13,16-enoylethanolamine and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Potency determinations of agonists at these complicated possibility differential susceptibility to enzymatic c...

Cannabinoid compounds have been reported to excite ventral tegmental neurons through activation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors. More recently, biochemical and whole-cell voltage-clamp studies carried out on CB1-transfected AtT20 cells have shown a rapid desensitization of these receptors following activation of protein kinase C by 4-alpha-phorbol. To investigate the possible physiological correla...

Cannabinoids have been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years and their effects were proposed to occur mainly via activation of the G-protein-coupled receptor CB1/CB2 (cannabinoid receptor 1/2). Discovery of potent synthetic analogs of the natural cannabinoids as clinically useful drugs is the sustained aim of cannabinoid research. This demands that these new compounds be fr...

AIM To determine the dopaminergic system involvement in precipitated cannabinoid withdrawal syndrome. METHODS The dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 or the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride was administered to rats chronically treated with either delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or vehicle. Subjects were then injected with either SR141716A or vehicle and behavior was observed ...

The effect of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psycho-active component of marijuana, in human prostate cancer cells PC-3 was investigated. THC caused apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Morphological and biochemical changes induced by THC in prostate PC-3 cells shared the characteristics of an apoptotic phenomenon. First, loss of plasma membrane asymmetry determined by fluorescent...