China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Endogenous Cannabinoid Receptors and Medical Cannabis
Published in Sahar Swidan, Matthew Bennett, Advanced Therapeutics in Pain Medicine, 2020
The biosynthesis and degradation of enzymes such as fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoglyceride lipase (MGL) that break down endocannabinoids are prime targets for new drug development. Manipulating these enzymes may harness innate processes that counteract disease states, and plant-derived molecules such as cannabidiol (CBD) hold significant promise for this. Allosteric modulators of endocannabinoid receptors other than CBD are a target of future drug development, as their effects on the receptors’ activity can potentially enhance endogenous cannabinoid function.
Science Behind Maca: A Traditional Crop from the Central Andes
Published in Raj K. Keservani, Anil K. Sharma, Rajesh K. Kesharwani, Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements, 2020
Gustavo F. Gonzales, Cinthya Vasquez-Velasquez, Dulce Esperanza Alarcón-Yaquetto
These compounds are absent in fresh maca samples and, interestingly, they have been found to inhibit fatty amidic acid hydrolase (FAAH), an enzyme in charge of the hydrolysis of endocannabinoids further suggesting involvement of maca in this signaling pathway that could account for its beneficial effects.
Pharmacotherapy of Neurochemical Imbalances
Published in Sahab Uddin, Rashid Mamunur, Advances in Neuropharmacology, 2020
Rupali Patil, Aman Upaganlawar, Suvarna Ingale
The interesting fact observed was that though cannabinoids exist only naturally in plant with no biological connection in humans, many parts of brain, namely cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and hippocampus express huge numbers of receptors for cannabinoids. This made scientific workers to think of endogenous substances which may be selectively interacting with CB and whose action is facilitated by Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Thus in 1992, the first endogenous ligand of CB1 receptors later labeled as Anandamide was discovered in porcine brain. The name, Anandamide was derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Ananda’ meaning ‘Bliss.’ With the discovery of anandamide, many other metabolites collectively termed as endocannabinoids, were characterized and discovered to act as useful agonists of CB in the brain, however they were not superior in efficacy than anandamide (Devane et al., 1992). The endocannabinoids are found in the brain or other tissues only in small amounts. Similar to other lipid mediators, they are formed and released locally on call. Anandamide and endocannabinoids are rapidly inactivated by reuptake through transporter and by metabolism through the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase. The anandamide is formed from the precursor N-arachidonic phosphatidyl ethanolamine by hydrolysis in presence of an enzyme phosphodiesterase enzyme phospholipase D (Iversen, 2003).
Assessment of clinical outcomes of medicinal cannabis therapy for depression: analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2022
Sajed Mangoo, Simon Erridge, Carl Holvey, Ross Coomber, Daniela A Riano Barros, Urmila Bhoskar, Gracia Mwimba, Kavita Praveen, Chris Symeon, Simmi Sachdeva-Mohan, James J Rucker, Mikael H Sodergren
(−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD) are the main active pharmaceutical ingredients in cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) [11]. Δ9-THC is mainly responsible for the psychotropic properties of cannabis, such as euphoria, and acts as a partial CB1 and CB2 receptor agonist [9]. CBD may act as a negative allosteric modulator of CB1 receptors, although there is controversy about the exact mechanism of CBD on cannabinoid receptors [12]. However, it is accepted that CBD primarily acts through the inhibition of fatty acid binding ligands [13]. This reduces the transportation of anandamide, an endogenous partial CB1 agonist, to fatty acid amide hydrolase, which leads to increased levels of anandamide and increased constitutive activation of CB1 receptors [13]. By increasing endocannabinoid signaling via interaction with CB1 and CB2 receptors in the endocannabinoid system, CBMPs have been proposed as potential therapeutic compounds for the treatment of depression.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of sex differences in cannabis use disorder amongst people with comorbid mental illness
Published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2021
Karolina Kozak, Philip H. Smith, Darby J.E Lowe, Andrea H. Weinberger, Ziva D Cooper, Rachel A. Rabin, Tony P. George
Preclinical studies demonstrate that hormonal factors, specifically estradiol, strongly influence the functioning of the eCB system (89). Estradiol regulates CB1R expression in a region-dependent manner rendering sex differences in various brain structures including the amygdala (90). Given the amygdala’s role in mediating anxiety-like responses (91), higher CB1R density in the amygdala of females, compared to males, may be one mechanism contributing to their greater sensitivity to the anxiogenic effects of cannabis (90). In addition, anandamide levels are lower in females than males (92), which may reflect higher concentrations of fatty acid amide hydrolase in females (93), the metabolic enzyme responsible for degrading anandamide. Decreased whole-brain anandamide levels are predictive of anxiety-like behaviors (94) and are evident in female patients with anxiety disorders (92). Notably, lower levels of anandamide have also been documented in the cerebrospinal fluid of chronic cannabis users compared to infrequent cannabis users (95). Consistent with this reduction in anandamide levels in CUD, there is increased in vivo fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH, the degradative enzyme for anandamide) binding in humans with CUD measured with the PET tracer [11 C]CURB (96). Taken together, this suggests that a putative pathway may be implicated in both the development of CUD and anxiety disorders in females.
Off-target identification by chemical proteomics for the understanding of drug side effects
Published in Expert Review of Proteomics, 2020
During the past decades, ABPP has been successfully employed to identify the off-targets of many drugs. A recent example is BIA 10–2474, an inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). BIA 10–2474 was a potential drug for the treatment of anxiety and pain but failed in phase I clinical trial due to unknown severe neurotoxicity. To uncover the mechanism of this side effect, competitive ABPP was performed to profile the serine hydrolase interactome of BIA 10–2474. As a result, BIA 10–2474 was found to interact with several other lipases and cause lipid network alterations in human cortical neurons, which may contribute to its neurotoxicity [8]. In another study, quantitative acid-cleavable ABPP (QA-ABPP) was developed to map the acetylated target proteins of aspirin. In total, 523 acetylated proteins were identified as potential targets of aspirin, which may explain its multiple drug actions or side effects [9]. However, due to the specific characteristics of different probes, ABPP is only available to investigate defined enzymes families, which represent a small portion of the whole proteome.