“Objective: To construct a eukaryotic expression vector containing human cannabinoid receptor 2 (hCB2R) gene and investigate its expression, location and the influence on the apoptosis of cervical cancer Caski cells.
Conclusion: The up-regulated expression of hCB2R could induce cell apoptosis by enhancing the expressions of Bax, Bad and suppressing the expression of Bcl-2 in Caski cells.”
“We have recently demonstrated that treatment with a cannabinoid CB2 agonist was protective in a mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The present study aimed to determine whether these protective effects of CB2 agonism would extend to a mouse photoinjury model of permanent ischemia and determine associated alterations in cognition and infarct size…
We conclude that CB2 activation is protective against cognitive deficits and tissue damage following permanent ischemia…”
“We have previously shown that agonists selective for the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), including O-1966, inhibit the Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction (MLR), an in vitro correlate of organ graft rejection, predominantly through effects on T-cells. Current studies explored the mechanism of this immunosuppression by O-1966 using mouse spleen cells…
These data support the potential of CB2-selective agonists as useful therapeutic agents to prolong graft survival in transplant patients, and strengthens their potential as a new class of immunosuppressive agents with broader applicability.”
“Microglia accumulation plays detrimental roles in the pathology of germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) in the immature preterm brain.
Here, we investigated the effects of a cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) agonist on microglia proliferation and the possible involvement of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family pathway in a collagenase-induced GMH rat model and in thrombin-induced rat microglia cells.
Overall, these findings suggest that activation of the endocannabinoid system might attenuate inflammation-induced secondary brain injury after GMH in rats by reducing microglia accumulation through a mechanism involving ERK dephosphorylation.
Enhancing CB2R activation is a potential treatment to slow down the course of GMH in preterm newborns.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25963415
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/brain-trauma/
“The widespread plant volatile beta-caryophyllene (BCP) was recently identified as a natural selective agonist of the peripherally expressedcannabinoid receptor 2 (CB₂).
…the natural plant product BCP may be highly effective in the treatment of long lasting, debilitating pain states. Our results have important implications for the role of dietary factors in the development and modulation of chronic pain conditions.
Cannabis preparations, which have been used since thousands of years for the treatment of pain have recently come again into the focus as potential therapeutics for inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions. Currently, cannabis extracts and synthetic preparations of the psychoactive cannabis compound Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have been approved in many countries for clinical pain management at doses and formulations that show on only minor central side effects…
A natural selective agonist for CB2 receptors is the plant volatile BCP, which represents a dietary phytocannabinoid. BCP is found in large amounts in the essential oils of many common spices and food plants… Several health effects have been attributed to BCP or medicinal plants containing BCP, including anti-inflammatory, local anesthetic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-fibrotic and anxiolytic-like activity.
In the present study, we investigated the analgesic effects of BCP in formalin-induced inflammation model and in a model of neuropathic pain, which involves the partial ligation of the sciatic nerve… BCP is the first natural CB2 receptor agonist, which could orally reduce inflammatory responses in different animal models of pain.
Thus, it is likely that BCP belongs to a group of common plant natural products with major potential impact on human health.
The oral intake of this dietary cannabinoid with vegetable food could be advantageous in the daily routine clinical practice over synthetic cannabinoid agonists.”
http://www.europeanneuropsychopharmacology.com/article/S0924-977X(13)00302-7/fulltext
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/neuropathic-pain/
“The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the type 2 cannabinoid receptor (Cnr2) in regulating susceptibility to osteoarthritis in mice.
These studies demonstrate that the Cnr2 pathway plays a role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis in mice and shows that pharmacological activation of CB2 has a protective effect.
Further studies of the role of cannabinoid receptors in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis in man are warranted.”
“In recent years, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a new therapeutic target in variety of disorders associated with inflammation and tissue injury, including those of the neuronal, liver, renal and cardiovascular system.
The aim of the present review is to elucidate the effect of endocannabinoid system on ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in different organs and systems.
Expert opinion: CB2 receptors may play an important compensatory role in controlling tissue inflammation and injury in cells of the neuronal, cardiovascular, liver and renal systems, as well as in infiltrating monocytes/macrophages and leukocytes during various pathological conditions of the systems (atherosclerosis, restenosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart, liver and renal failure).
These receptors limit inflammation and associated tissue injury.
On the basis of preclinical results, pharmacological modulation of CB2 receptors may hold a unique therapeutic potential in stroke, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, IRI and liver disease.”
“Several recent studies suggest that selective CB2 receptor agonists may represent a valid pharmacological approach in the treatment of various diseases due to the absence of relevant psychoactive side effect…
Two compounds showing the best binding and selectivity profile behaved as a full agonist and a partial agonist at the CB2 receptor and induced a concentration-dependent decrease of cell viability on LNCaP, a prostatic cancer cell line expressing CB2 receptor.
Moreover considering that the CB2 receptor is mainly expressed in cells and organs of the immune system, the same compounds were studied for their potential immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects in activated lymphocytes isolated from healthy controls and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.”
“Cannabinoids (CB) modulate adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPCs) function, however, impact on the production, expansion or migration of embryonic HSCs is currently uncharacterized.
Here, using chemical and genetic approaches targeting CB-signaling in zebrafish, we show that CB receptor (CNR) 2, but not CNR1, regulates embryonic HSC development…
Together, these data suggest CNR2-signaling optimizes the production, expansion and migration of embryonic HSCs by modulating multiple downstream signaling pathways.”
“This study was designed to examine the role of cannabinoid CB2r in social and aggressive behavior…
Our results suggest that CB2r is implicated in social interaction and aggressive behavior and deserves further consideration as a potential new target for the management of aggression.”