“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) comprises the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 and their endogenous arachidonic acid-derived agonists 2-arachidonoyl glycerol and anandamide, which play important neuromodulatory roles.
Recently, a novel class of negative allosteric CB1 receptor peptide ligands, hemopressin-like peptides derived from alpha hemoglobin, has been described, with yet unknown origin and function in the CNS. Using monoclonal antibodies we now identified the localization of RVD-hemopressin (pepcan-12) and N-terminally extended peptide endocannabinoids (pepcans) in the CNS and determined their neuronal origin…
These data uncover important areas of peptide endocannabinoid occurrence with exclusive noradrenergic immunohistochemical staining, opening new doors to investigate their potential physiological function in the ECS.”