N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), an endogenous cannabinoid receptor ligand, and related lipid molecules in the nervous tissues.
The effects of N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide) and related compounds on the binding of [3H]CP55940 to rat brain synaptosomes were examined. Anandamide was shown to inhibit competitively the specific binding of [3H]CP55940 to synaptosomal membranes. The Ki value was 89 nM. In contrast, N-acylethanolamines containing saturated or monoenoic fatty acids did not exhibit high binding affinity. Several structural analogues of anandamide showed some binding activity. Among them, 2-arachidonoylglycerol is noteworthy because of its occurrence in mammalian tissues. A biosynthetic study indicated that anandamide can be synthesized via two separate synthetic pathways. The first is synthesis from free arachidonic acid and ethanolamine, and the second is the formation of N-arachidonoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) from diarachidonoyl phospholipids and PE and the subsequent enzymatic release of N-arachidonoylethanolamine. The latter pathway appears to explain very well the fatty acid composition of N-acylethanolamines present in mammalian tissues.
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Kanagawa, Japan.
T
T
Sugiura
S
S
Kondo
A
A
Sukagawa
T
T
Tonegawa
S
S
Nakane
A
A
Yamashita
K
K
Waku
D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D009420:Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D051381:Rats; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid; D011955:Receptors, Drug / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*
D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D008024:Ligands; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid; D011955:Receptors, Drug; C078814:anandamide