ABSTRACT: Endocannabinoids are endogenous bioactive lipid mediators present both in the brain and various peripheral tissues, which exert their biological effects via interaction with specific G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors, the CB1 and CB2. Pathological overactivation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in various forms of shock and heart failure may contribute to ... Continue Reading
cardiovascular disease
STUDY: Pharmacotherapeutic targeting of the endocannabinoid signaling system: Drugs for obesity and the metabolic syndrome
ABSTRACT: Endogenous signaling lipids (“endocannabinoids”) functionally related to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana (Cannabis), are important biomediators and metabolic regulators critical to mammalian (patho)physiology. The growing family of endocannabinoids, along with endocannabinoid biosynthetic and inactivating enzymes, transporters, and ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Mechanisms involved in oleamide-induced vasorelaxation in rat mesenteric resistance arteries
ABSTRACT: Fatty acid amides are a new class of signaling lipids that have been implicated in diverse physiological and pathological conditions. Oleamide is a fatty acid amide that induces vasorelaxation. Here, we investigated the mechanisms behind the vasorelaxation effect of oleamide in rat mesenteric resistance arteries. Oleamide-induced concentration dependent (0.01 ... Continue Reading
STUDY: CB1 Receptor Antagonist SR141716A Inhibits Ca2+-Induced Relaxation in CB1 Receptor–Deficient Mice
ABSTRACT: Mesenteric branch arteries isolated from cannabinoid type 1 receptor knockout (CB1−/−) mice, their wild-type littermates (CB1+/+ mice), and C57BL/J wild-type mice were studied to test the hypothesis that murine arteries undergo high sensitivity Ca2+-induced relaxation that is CB1 receptor dependent. Confocal microscope analysis of mesenteric branch arteries from ... Continue Reading