Research groups at the University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University, Niigata University, and the Institute of Physiology have found that a type of marijuana in the brain, "2-arachidnoylglycerol (2-AG)," has the function of strongly suppressing seizures, which is a symptom of epilepsy. And published the research results in the American scientific journal "Cell Reports".
The psychoactive substance "cannabinoid" contained in marijuana exerts its effect by acting on the cannabinoid receptor in the brain, but originally in the brain, the "intrinsic cannabinoid" that activates this receptor, Iwayu brain Inner marijuana exists.It is created by the activity of nerve cells and has the role of controlling the activity of nerve cells by suppressing the exchange of information at synapses.
There are two major endogenous cannabinoids, 2-AG and anandamide, which have been reported by animal models to suppress seizures via the cannabinoid CB2 receptor.However, it was not clear which was more important, 1-AG or anandamide, and the mechanism of suppression.
To elucidate the relationship between 2-AG and seizures, the group used DGLα knockout mice lacking the 2-AG-producing enzyme DGLα, CB1 knockout mice lacking the CB1 receptor, and wild-type mice. Experiments were performed using.As a result, it was found that 2-AG is considered to be mediated by both CB1 and CB2 receptors for the suppression of seizures.
Furthermore, in DGLα knockout mice, the neural circuit that develops epilepsy is formed earlier than in the wild type, and conversely, when the amount of 2-AG is increased, the formation of the circuit is delayed, so 2-AG is only a seizure. However, it became clear that the onset of epilepsy was also suppressed.
Epilepsy is a chronic disease that appears in 0.5-0.8% of the Japanese population.It is expected that the epilepsy-suppressing effect of 2-AG discovered this time will lead to the development of new drugs as research progresses in model animals and humans in the future.
