Cannabinoids and neuroinflammation

• Published in: British journal of pharmacology Vol. 141; no. 5; pp. 775 - 785
• Main Authors: Walter, Lisa, Stella, Nephi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2004; Nature Publishing
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cannabinoid; Cannabinoids - metabolism; Cannabinoids - therapeutic use; glia; Humans; immune cells; inflammation; Inflammation - drug therapy; Inflammation - metabolism; Medical sciences; Mini Reviews; multiple sclerosis; Neural Pathways - drug effects; Neural Pathways - metabolism; Neural Pathways - pathology; Neurodegenerative Diseases - drug therapy; Neurodegenerative Diseases - metabolism; Neurodegenerative Diseases - pathology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Nervous system diseases; Multiple sclerosis; Neuroglia; Central nervous system disease; immune cells; Inflammation; Cannabinoid; glia; Inflammatory disease
• ISSN: 0007-1188; 1476-5381
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0705667

Growing evidence suggests that a major physiological function of the cannabinoid signaling system is to modulate neuroinflammation. This review discusses the anti‐inflammatory properties of cannabinoid compounds at molecular, cellular and whole animal levels, first by examining the evidence for anti‐inflammatory effects of cannabinoids obtained using in vivo animal models of clinical neuroinflammatory conditions, specifically rodent models of multiple sclerosis, and second by describing the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system components in immune cells. Our aim is to identify immune functions modulated by cannabinoids that could account for their anti‐inflammatory effects in these animal models. British Journal of Pharmacology (2004) 141, 775–785. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705667