The poor prognosis of gliomas is to a large extent attributed to the markedly proliferative and invasive nature of the disease. Endocannabinoids have emerged as novel potential anti-tumor agents. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-carcinogenic activity of anandamide (AEA), an endocannabinoid, on glioma cells. To assess the functional role of AEA in glioma, the effects of AEA on cel...

Anandamide (AEA) impairs mouse pregnancy and embryo development. Here, we overview the role of AEA in sexual function, focusing on AEA degradation during human pregnancy. Human peripheral lymphocytes express the AEA-hydrolyzing enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which decreases in miscarrying women. FAAH is regulated by progesterone and Th1/Th2 cytokines, whereas the AEA transporter and ...

The cellular inactivation of the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) anandamide (AEA) represents a controversial and intensely investigated subject. This process has been proposed to involve two proteins, a transporter that promotes the cellular uptake of AEA and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which hydrolyzes AEA to arachidonic acid. However, whereas the role of FAAH in AEA metabolism...

Tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) is involved in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer, a disease where disturbances in the endocannabinoid system are seen. In the present study we have investigated whether treatment of DU145 human prostate cancer cells affects anandamide (AEA) catabolic pathways. Additionally, we have investigated whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) can regulate the uptake of AEA int...

PURPOSE Earlier studies have suggested that the intraocular pressure (IOP) effects of topical arachidonylethanolamide (AEA) are mediated through its fatty acid metabolite, rather than through AEA, per se. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the topical anandamides AEA and arachidonyl propionitrileamide (APN) decrease IOP when their enzymatic degradation is prevented by phenylme...

The endocannabinoid N-arachidonylethanolamine (AEA) is accumulated by many cell types, but the mechanisms are unknown. Data from several laboratories are consistent with the hypothesis that the accumulation of AEA occurs via the action of a transmembrane carrier that binds and transports AEA. However, other data suggest that AEA is sufficiently lipophilic to transverse plasma membranes by passi...

It has been reported that the endogenous cannabinoid N-arachidonylethanolamide (AEA), commonly referred to as anandamide, has the characteristics of an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in rat mesenteric artery. We have carried out studies to determine whether AEA affects coronary vascular tone. The vasorelaxant effects of AEA were determined in isolated bovine coronary artery rings pr...

Our objective was to determine the effect of arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide, AEA) injected intracerebroventricularly (icv) into the lateral ventricle of the rat brain on submandibular gland (SMG) salivary secretion. Parasympathetic decentralization (PSD) produced by cutting the chorda tympani nerve strongly inhibited methacholine (MC)-induced salivary secretion while sympathetic denervatio...

: This review focuses on aspirin-exacerbated asthma (AEA). The review includes historical perspective of aspirin, prevalence, pathogenesis, clinical features and treatment of AEA. The pathogenesis of AEA involves the cyclooxygenase and lipooxygenase pathway. Aspirin affects both of these pathways by inhibiting the enzyme cycooxygenase-1 (COX-1). Inhibition of COX-1 leads to a decrease in prosta...

BACKGROUND The process of implantation is mediated by various molecules, one of which is anandamide (AEA), a lipid signalling ligand belonging to the family of endocannabinoids. AEA exerts its effects on implantation by binding to the Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor (CB1-R), expressed in both blastocysts and uterus. We wanted to know whether the endocannabinoid signalling system was present also in...