title: CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonism: a new strategy for the treatment of liver fibrosis.
abstract: Hepatic fibrosis, the common response associated with chronic liver diseases, ultimately leads to cirrhosis, a major public health problem worldwide. We recently showed that activation of hepatic cannabinoid CB2 receptors limits progression of experimental liver fibrosis. We also found that during the course of chronic hepatitis C, daily cannabis use is an independent predictor of fibrosis progression. Overall, these results suggest that endocannabinoids may drive both CB2-mediated antifibrogenic effects and CB2-independent profibrogenic effects. Here we investigated whether activation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (encoded by Cnr1) promotes progression of fibrosis. CB1 receptors were highly induced in human cirrhotic samples and in liver fibrogenic cells. Treatment with the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A decreased the wound-healing response to acute liver injury and inhibited progression of fibrosis in three models of chronic liver injury. We saw similar changes in Cnr1-/- mice as compared to wild-type mice. Genetic or pharmacological inactivation of CB1 receptors decreased fibrogenesis by lowering hepatic transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 and reducing accumulation of fibrogenic cells in the liver after apoptosis and growth inhibition of hepatic myofibroblasts. In conclusion, our study shows that CB1 receptor antagonists hold promise for the treatment of liver fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, Unité 581, Hôpital Henri Mondor Créteil, F-9400 France.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Teixeira-Clerc
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Julien
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grenard
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tran Van Nhieu
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Deveaux
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Serriere-Lanneau
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ledent
authors.forename: Ariane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mallat
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lotersztajn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010880:Piperidines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D043885:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2 / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077285:Rimonabant; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1
chemical_list: D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; D010880:Piperidines; D011720:Pyrazoles; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; D043885:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; C508961:Tgfb1 protein, mouse; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D000077285:Rimonabant