Cannabinoid receptors signaling

Howlett AC (2005) Cannabinoid receptor signaling. Handb Exp Pharmacol 168 53-79... 

Wang H, Matsumoto H, Guo Y, Paria BC, Roberts RL, Dey SK (2003) Differential G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor signaling by anandamide directs blastocyst activation for implantation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100 14914-14919... 

Brotchie JM (2003) CBI cannabinoid receptor signalling in Parkinson s disease. Curr Opin Pharmacol 3 54-61... 

Herrera, B., Carracedo, A., Diez-Zaera, M., Gomez del Pulgar, T., Guzman, M., and Velasco, G. The CB2 cannabinoid receptor signals apoptosis via ceramide-dependent activation of the mitochondrial intrinsic pathway. Exp Cell Res, 312, 2006, 2121-2131. 

Based on the role of endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors in several pathological conditions, the pharmacological manipulation of their levels or action is being developed as a therapeutic strategy. Enhancement of endocannabinoid signalling when this plays uniquely a protective role can be effected in a safer way using (i) cannabis extracts in which the presence of non-psychotropic cannabinoids with therapeutic activity per... 

Houston D, Howlett AC. Differential receptor-G-protein coupling evoked by dissimilar cannabinoid receptor agonists. Cell Signal 1998 10 667-674. 

Paria BC, Das SK, Dey SK. The preimplantation embryo is a target for cannabinoid ligand-receptor signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1996 92 9430-9464. 

Felder CC, Briley EM, Axelrod J, Simpson JT, Mackie K, Devane WA. Anandamide, an endogenous cannabimimetic eicosanoid, binds to the cloned human cannabinoid receptor and stimulates receptor-mediated signal transduction. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993 90 7656-7660. 

Das SK, Paria BC, Chakraborty I, Dey SK. (1995). Cannabinoid ligand-receptor signaling in the mouse uterus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 92(10) 4332-36. 

That of mediators of signals is an area open to discovery. Endogenous cannabinoids are an example. Putatively involved in important functions with cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells, they remain elusive, however (Christie 2001). 

They found that a strain of mice that lacks the gene for NPY—NPY knockout mice—consume more ethanol than control mice and are less sensitive to ethanol s sedative effects. As would be expected if increased concentrations of NPY in the brain make mice more sensitive to ethanol, a strain of mice that overexpresses NPY drinks less alcohol than the controls even though their total consumption of food and liquid is normal. Work with other transgenic knockout mice support the central role in ethanol responses of signaling molecules that have long been believed to be involved (eg, GABA A, glutamate, dopamine, opioid, and serotonin receptors) and has helped build the case for newer candidates such as NPY and cannabinoid receptors, ion channels, and protein kinase C. 

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