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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
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Readable research linked to original sources
Browse normalized, publication-ready research with direct links to its evidence and source.
16 articles
Newest firstOpioid use disorder (OUD) remains a major public health crisis, underscoring the urgent need for safer and more effective treatments. Cannabinoid CB2 receptor (CB2R) agonists show therapeutic promise for neuropsychiatric disorders and pain, with minimal psychoactive effects by themselves, but their potential in treating OUD is not well defined. Here, we report that MRI-2594, a novel, highly selective CB2R agonist,…
Open article record in new tab ↗Abstract The cannabinoid CB2 receptor (CB2R) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for pain and central nervous system disorders, yet its brain expression has remained controversial due to low basal levels and the lack of reliable antibodies. Previous green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter mouse lines have produced conflicting findings, possibly because GFP was either randomly inserted into the genome or…
Open article record in new tab ↗Objective Type 1 diabetes (T1D) occurs because of islet infiltration by autoreactive immune cells leading to destruction of beta cells and it is becoming evident that beta cell dysfunction partakes in this process. We previously reported that genetic deletion and pharmacological antagonism of the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1) in mice improves insulin synthesis and secretion, upregulates glucose sensing machinery, f…
The endocannabinoidome (eCBome) is the expanded endocannabinoid system (ECS) and studies show that there is a link between this system and how it modulates alcohol induced neuroinflammation. Using conditional knockout (cKO) mice with selective deletion of cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2Rs) in dopamine neurons (DAT-Cnr2) and in microglia (Cx3Cr1-Cnr2), we investigated how CB2Rs modulate behavioral and neuroinflam…
Open article record in new tab ↗Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease resulting from loss of insulin-secreting β-cells in islets of Langerhans. The loss of β-cells is initiated when self-tolerance to β-cell-derived contents breaks down, which leads to T cell-mediated β-cell damage and, ultimately, β-cell apoptosis. Many investigations have demonstrated the positive effects of antagonizing cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) in metab…
DAT-Cnr2 mice are conditional knockout (cKO) animals that do not express cannabinoid CB2 receptors (CB2R), in midbrain dopamine neurons. The hyperactivity phenotype of DAT-Cnr2 cKO mice were paradoxically reduced by low dose of amphetamine. Here, we report on the locomotor activity analysis in male and female adolescent (PND 30 ± 2) mice in basal conditions and in response to different doses of amphetamine, using…
Open article record in new tab ↗Cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) expression is upregulated in the liver with viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD), whereas its expression is muted under usual physiological conditions. Inhibiting CB1R has been shown to be beneficial in preserving hepatic function in FLD but it is unclear if inhibiting CB1R during an inflammatory response to an acute hepatic injury…
There is behavioral evidence for the interaction between crude khat extract and the endocannabinoid system, whereby the endocannabinoid system alters khat extract-mediated behavioral effects through modulation of the monoaminergic system. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the endocannabinoid system on the neurobehavioral effect of khat extract in mice following concomitant administration o…
Background Synaptic damage precedes neuron death in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neurexins, NRXN1, NRXN2, and NRXN3, are presynaptic adhesion molecules that specify neuron synapses and regulate neurotransmitter release. Neurexins and postsynaptic neuroligins interact with amyloid beta oligomer (AβO) deposits in damaged synapses. NRXN3 gene variants have been associated with autism, addiction, and schizophrenia, howev…
Aims/hypothesis The cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) regulates insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues. CB1R is expressed on pancreatic beta cells and is coupled to the G protein Gαi, suggesting a negative regulation of endogenous signalling in the beta cell. Deciphering the exact function of CB1R in beta cells has been confounded by the expression of this receptor on multiple tissues involve…
CB2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) gene is associated with depression. We investigated the gene-environment interaction between CB2R function and diverse stressors. First, anxiety-like behavior during chronic-mild-stress (CMS) was evaluated in C57BL/6JJmsSlc mice following treatment with CB2R agonist JWH015 or inverse-agonist AM630. Second, locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior were measured following exposure…
Cannabis can be rewarding or aversive. Cannabis reward is believed to be mediated by activation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1Rs) on GABAergic neurons that disinhibit dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying cannabis aversion in rodents. In the present study, CB1Rs are found not only on VTA GABAergic neurons, but also on VTA glutamatergic…
Open article record in new tab ↗Cannabinoid CB2 receptors (CB2Rs) are expressed in mouse brain dopamine (DA) neurons and are involved in several DA-related disorders. However, the cell type-specific mechanisms are unclear since the CB2R gene knockout mice are constitutive gene knockout. Therefore, we generated Cnr2-floxed mice that were crossed with DAT-Cre mice, in which Cre- recombinase expression is under dopamine transporter gene (DAT) promo…
Therapeutics aimed at blocking the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor for treatment of obesity resulted in significant improvements in liver function, glucose uptake and pancreatic β-cell function independent of weight loss or CB1 receptor blockade in the brain, suggesting that peripherally-acting only CB1 receptor blockers may be useful therapeutic agents. Neuropsychiatric side effects and lack of tissue specificity pr…
Recent studies have indicated that type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) agonists reduce neurodegeneration after brain injury through anti-inflammatory activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the time-dependent interaction of CB2R and inflammation in stroke brain. Adult male rats were subjected to right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo). CB2R mRNA expression was significantly elevated >20 fold on day…
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