The Role of Endocannabinoid System in Neuroprotection: Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Opportunities

Abstract

Objective: To describe the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptors, its agonism/antagonism in neurodegenerative disorders. Introduction: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) represents a highly complex biological system that synthesize and degrade the endocannabinoids. Cannabinoids are endogenous lipid-based neurotransmitters, work in retrograde manner, that bind to a class of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) known as CBRs, of two types: CB1R and CB2R. Results: The literature review suggests that the endocannabinoids regulate cognitive processes, fertility, pregnancy, immune homeostasis, appetite, pain, pain sensation, memory, and behavior. Both CB1 and CB2 couple mainly to inhibitor G proteins and having same pharmacological influences as other GPCRs. Thus, selective/partial agonism, functional selectivity/activity, and inverse agonism all play vital activities in determining the cellular response to specific CBR and ligand interactions. Conclusion: Improved therapeutic modalities for neurological disorders and the development of novel molecular targets for therapeutic intervention of neuronal diseases require a full understanding of the cross-talk between CB1, cannabinoids, and pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease.

Keywords

• cannabinoids
• neurotransmitters
• pain
• cannabinoid receptors
• neurological disorders