Good news for CB1 receptors: endogenous agonists are in the right place

Br J Pharmacol. 2008 Jan;153(2):179-81. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0707566. Epub 2007 Nov 12.

Abstract

Endocannabinoids are endogenous ligands of brain-type (CB1) and spleen-type (CB2) cannabinoid receptors. N-Arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are prototype members of the fatty acid amides and the monoacylglycerols, two groups of endocannabinoids. Unlike CB1, CB2 receptors do not reside within 'caveolae', specialized membrane microdomains that are well-known modulators of the activity of a number of G protein-coupled receptors. In this issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Rimmerman and coworkers demonstrate that 2-AG is entirely localized in the caveolae of dorsal root ganglion cells, where also part of AEA (approximately 30%) can be detected. However, most of AEA (approximately 70%) was detected in non-caveolae fractions, that is where CB2 receptors are localized. The different interaction of AEA and 2-AG with membrane microdomains might have significant implications for endocannabinoid-dependent autocrine and/or retrograde-paracrine signalling pathways. It also raises an important question about the structural determinants responsible for a different localization of two apparently similar endocannabinoids within lipid bilayers.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / chemistry
  • Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / physiology*
  • Chemical Phenomena
  • Chemistry, Physical
  • Humans
  • Membrane Microdomains / genetics
  • Membrane Microdomains / physiology
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / agonists*
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / chemistry
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / physiology*

Substances

  • Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators
  • Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1