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Endocannabinoids and neuropathic pain: focus on neuron–glia and endocannabinoid–neurotrophin interactions
Author(s) -
Luongo Livio,
Maione Sabatino,
Di Marzo Vincenzo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.12440
Subject(s) - endocannabinoid system , neuroscience , cannabinoid receptor , neurotrophin , 2 arachidonoylglycerol , brain derived neurotrophic factor , neurotrophic factors , cannabinoid , biology , receptor , biochemistry , agonist
Although originally described as a signalling system encompassing the cannabinoid CB 1 and CB 2 receptors, their endogenous agonists (the endocannabinoids), and metabolic enzymes regulating the levels of such agonists, the endocannabinoid system is now viewed as being more complex, and including metabolically related endocannabinoid‐like mediators and their molecular targets as well. The function and dysfunction of this complex signalling system in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of pain transduction and control has been widely studied over the last two decades. In this review article, we describe some of the latest advances in our knowledge on the role of the endocannabinoid system, in its most recent and wider conception, in pain pathways, by focusing on: (1) neuron–glia interactions; and (2) emerging data on endocannabinoid cross‐talk with neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor.