RT Journal Article
T1 Non‐psychoactive CB2cannabinoid agonists stimulate neural progenitor proliferation
A1 Palazuelos Diego, Javier
A1 Aguado Sánchez, Tania
A1 Egia, Ainara
A1 Mechoulam, Raphael
A1 Guzmán Pastor, Manuel
A1 Galve Roperh, Ismael
AB Cannabinoids, the active components ofmarijuana  and  their  endogenous  counterparts,  act  onthe  brain  and  many  other  organs  through  the  widelyexpressed  CB1cannabinoid  receptor.  In  contrast,  theCB2cannabinoid receptor is abundant in the immunesystem  and  shows  a  restricted  expression  pattern  inbrain  cells.  CB2-selective  agonists  are,  therefore,  veryattractive   therapeutic   agents   as   they   do   not   causeCB1-mediated  psychoactive  effects.  CB2receptor  ex-pression in brain has been partially examined in differ-entiated cells, while its presence and function in neuralprogenitor  cells  remain  unknown.  Here  we  show  thatthe CB2receptor is expressed, bothin vitroandin vivo,in  neural  progenitors  from  late  embryonic  stages  toadult brain. Selective pharmacological activation of theCB2receptorin vitropromotes  neural  progenitor  cellproliferation  and  neurosphere  generation,  an  actionthat is impaired in CB2-deficient cells. Accordingly,invivoexperiments  evidence  that  hippocampal  progeni-tor proliferation is increased by administration of theCB2-selective agonist HU-308. Moreover, impaired pro-genitor  proliferation  was  observed  in  CB2-deficientmice both in normal conditions and on kainate-inducedexcitotoxicity.  These  findings  provide  a  novel  physio-logical role for the CB2cannabinoid receptor and opena  novel  therapeutic  avenue  for  manipulating  neuralprogenitor cell fate.—Palazuelos, J., Aguado, T., Egia, A.,Mechoulam,  R.,  Guzma ́n,  M.,  Galve-Roperh,  I.  Non-psychoactive  CB2cannabinoid  agonists  stimulate  neuralprogenitor   proliferation.FASEB J.20,   E1773–E1779(2006).
PB Wiley
SN 0892-6638
YR 2006
FD 2006
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91268
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91268
LA eng
NO Palazuelos et al. The CB2 cannabinoid receptor controls myeloid progenitor trafficking: involvement in the pathogenesis of animal model of multiple sclerosis. J Biol Chem. 283,13320-29 (2008)
NO Ministerio  de  Ciencia  y  Tecnología (España)
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO Fundación Mutua Madrileña 
DS Docta Complutense
RD 9 abr 2025