Skip to content
2000
Volume 2, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1570-159X
  • E-ISSN: 1875-6190

Abstract

Cannabinoids are well known for their effects on neurotransmission in the central nervous system. Whereas the components of cannabinoid signaling have been intensively studied in neurons, recent data suggest that a cannabinoid signaling system, i.e. the endogenous cannabinoid ligands, the receptors that they activate and the components that degrade them, also exist in the non-neuronal cells of the brain, the glia. Because of their abundance and because of their importance in maintaining brain homeostasis, glial cells are involved in and affected by virtually all neurological diseases. Interestingly, a lot of neurological conditions, chronic and acute, are associated with a disturbance of the endocannabinoid system. This raises the possibility that effects of cannabinoids on glial cells have an important impact in these conditions and could potentially be exploited therapeutically. Cannabinoids regulate various physiological functions of glial cells, such as glucose metabolism and gap junction permeability and also have a major influence on pathophysiological functions of glial cells, like migration, cytokine production and nitric oxide release. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about cannabinoids and glial cells with a special focus on neurological conditions, especially neurodegenerative, demyelinating and neoplastic diseases.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/cn/10.2174/1570159043476855
2004-01-01
2025-06-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/cn/10.2174/1570159043476855
Loading

  • Article Type:
    Review Article
Keyword(s): astrocytes; cannabinoids; endocannabinoids; glial cells; microglia; oligodendrocytes
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test