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The Endocannabinoid System: New Insights into Its Role in Health and Disease 2.0

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 1203

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last three decades, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as an important neuromodulatory system in the human body that modulates and controls a range of crucial physiological or psychological functions, including inflammatory and immune responses, emotions, learning and memory, sleep, appetite, and nociception, as well as cell growth and proliferation. Based on the available data, it seems that specific cannabinoid receptors as well as enzymes responsible for the synthesis and degradation of their endogenous ligands (i.e., endocannabinoids) are promising as therapeutic targets in multiple diseases and disorders. In fact, the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) that modulates the endocannabinoid system was widely used in the past for its curative properties. Extensive research on compounds targeting components of the endocannabinoid system in relation to the treatment of psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, seizures, cancer, pain, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory disorders has been carried out with varying degrees of success. Few drugs have reached the pharmaceutical market, but there are several drug candidates whose activity and safety have been verified. In our Special Issue entitled “The Endocannabinoid System: New Insights into Its Role in Health and Disease 2.0”, we would like to encourage scientists to share their opinions and suggestions related to new therapeutic or diagnostic approaches that affect the endocannabinoid system.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for molecular mechanistic research on the endocannabinoid system, with a special focus on its role in health and disease. We warmly welcome your submissions of original papers and reviews based on results from molecular viewpoints.

Prof. Dr. Anna Serefko
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Szopa
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • cannabinoids
  • cannabinoid receptors
  • drug development
  • diagnostics
  • phytocannabinoids
  • synthetic cannabinoids

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1856 KiB  
Article
Cannabidiol Protects against the Reinstatement of Oxycodone-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Adolescent Male but Not Female Rats: The Role of MOR and CB1R
by Justyna Socha, Pawel Grochecki, Marta Marszalek-Grabska, Aleksandra Skrok, Irena Smaga, Tymoteusz Slowik, Wojciech Prazmo, Robert Kotlinski, Malgorzata Filip and Jolanta H. Kotlinska
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6651; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126651 - 17 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 989
Abstract
Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid, appeared to satisfy several criteria for a safe approach to preventing drug-taking behavior, including opioids. However, most successful preclinical and clinical results come from studies in adult males. We examined whether systemic injections of CBD (10 mg/kg, i.p.) during [...] Read more.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid, appeared to satisfy several criteria for a safe approach to preventing drug-taking behavior, including opioids. However, most successful preclinical and clinical results come from studies in adult males. We examined whether systemic injections of CBD (10 mg/kg, i.p.) during extinction of oxycodone (OXY, 3 mg/kg, i.p.) induced conditioned place preference (CPP) could attenuate the reinstatement of CPP brought about by OXY (1.5 mg/kg, i.p.) priming in adolescent rats of both sexes, and whether this effect is sex dependent. Accordingly, a priming dose of OXY produced reinstatement of the previously extinguished CPP in males and females. In both sexes, this effect was linked to locomotor sensitization that was blunted by CBD pretreatments. However, CBD was able to prevent the reinstatement of OXY-induced CPP only in adolescent males and this outcome was associated with an increased cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) and a decreased mu opioid receptor (MOR) expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The reinstatement of CCP in females was associated with a decreased MOR expression, but no changes were detected in CB1R in the hippocampus (HIP). Moreover, CBD administration during extinction significantly potentialized the reduced MOR expression in the PFC of males and showed a tendency to potentiate the reduced MOR in the HIP of females. Additionally, CBD reversed OXY-induced deficits of recognition memory only in males. These results suggest that CBD could reduce reinstatement to OXY seeking after a period of abstinence in adolescent male but not female rats. However, more investigation is required. Full article
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