TY - JOUR
T1 - The endocannabinoid pathway in Huntington's disease
T2 - A comparison with other neurodegenerative diseases
AU - Maccarrone, Mauro
AU - Battista, Natalia
AU - Centonze, Diego
PY - 2007/4
Y1 - 2007/4
N2 - Endocannabinoids are endogenous agonists of cannabinoid receptors, and comprise amides, esters and ethers of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are the best-studied members of this class of lipid mediators, and it is now widely accepted that their in vivo concentration and biological activity are largely dependent on a "metabolic control." Therefore, the proteins that synthesize, transport and degrade endocannabinoids, and that together with the target receptors form the so-called "endocannabinoid system," are the focus of intense research. This new system will be presented in this review, in order to put in a better perspective the impact of its modulation on Huntington's disease. In particular, the effect of agonists/antagonists of endocannabinoid receptors, or of inhibitors of endocannabinoid metabolism, will be discussed in the context of onset and progression of Huntington's disease, and will be compared with other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotropic lateral sclerosis. Also the plastic changes of endocannabinoids in multiple sclerosis will be reviewed, as a paradigm of their impact in neuroinflammatory disorders.
AB - Endocannabinoids are endogenous agonists of cannabinoid receptors, and comprise amides, esters and ethers of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are the best-studied members of this class of lipid mediators, and it is now widely accepted that their in vivo concentration and biological activity are largely dependent on a "metabolic control." Therefore, the proteins that synthesize, transport and degrade endocannabinoids, and that together with the target receptors form the so-called "endocannabinoid system," are the focus of intense research. This new system will be presented in this review, in order to put in a better perspective the impact of its modulation on Huntington's disease. In particular, the effect of agonists/antagonists of endocannabinoid receptors, or of inhibitors of endocannabinoid metabolism, will be discussed in the context of onset and progression of Huntington's disease, and will be compared with other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotropic lateral sclerosis. Also the plastic changes of endocannabinoids in multiple sclerosis will be reviewed, as a paradigm of their impact in neuroinflammatory disorders.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - Amyotropic lateral sclerosis
KW - Endocannabinoids
KW - Huntington's disease
KW - Multiple sclerosis
KW - Parkinson's disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34047139505&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34047139505&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2006.11.006
DO - 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2006.11.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 17276576
AN - SCOPUS:34047139505
VL - 81
SP - 349
EP - 379
JO - Progress in Neurobiology
JF - Progress in Neurobiology
SN - 0301-0082
IS - 5-6
ER -