Bellocchio L, Cervino C, Pasquali R, Pagotto U
Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Endocrinology Unit and Center of Applied Biomedical Research, S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
J Neuroendocrinol. 2008 Jun;20(6):850-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2008.01728.x.
Many different regulatory actions have been attributed to endocannabinoids, and their involvement in several pathophysiological conditions is under intense scrutiny. Cannabinoid receptors [cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and CB2] participate in the physiological modulation of many central and peripheral functions. The ability of the endocannabinoid system to control appetite, food intake and energy balance has recently received considerable attention, particularly in the light of the different modes of action underlying these functions. The endocannabinoid system modulates rewarding properties of food by acting at specific mesolimbic areas in the brain. In the hypothalamus, CB1 receptors and endocannabinoids are integrated components of the networks controlling appetite and food intake. Interestingly, the endocannabinoid system was recently shown to control several metabolic functions by acting on peripheral tissues such as adipocytes, hepatocytes, the gastrointestinal tract, the skeletal muscles and the endocrine pancreas. The relevance of the system is further strengthened by the notion that visceral obesity seems to be a condition in which an overactivation of the endocannabinoid system occurs, and therefore drugs interfering with this overactivation by blocking CB1 receptors are considered as potentially valuable candidates for the treatment of obesity and related cardiometabolic risk factors.
许多不同的调节作用都归因于内源性大麻素，并且它们在几种病理生理状况中的作用正受到密切关注。大麻素受体[1型大麻素受体（CB1）和2型大麻素受体（CB2）]参与许多中枢和外周功能的生理调节。内源性大麻素系统控制食欲、食物摄入和能量平衡的能力最近受到了相当多的关注，特别是鉴于这些功能背后的不同作用模式。内源性大麻素系统通过作用于大脑中特定的中脑边缘区域来调节食物的奖赏特性。在下丘脑中，CB1受体和内源性大麻素是控制食欲和食物摄入网络的组成部分。有趣的是，最近发现内源性大麻素系统通过作用于外周组织，如脂肪细胞、肝细胞、胃肠道、骨骼肌和内分泌胰腺，来控制多种代谢功能。内脏肥胖似乎是一种内源性大麻素系统过度激活的状况，因此，通过阻断CB1受体来干扰这种过度激活的药物被认为是治疗肥胖及相关心脏代谢危险因素的潜在有价值的候选药物，这一观点进一步强化了该系统的相关性。
