Editorial: Therapeutic potential of the cannabinoid CB2 receptor
Reem Smoum, Uwe Grether, Meliha Karsak, Andrea J. Vernall, Frank Park, Cecilia J. Hillard, Pál Pacher
Abstract
The cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for treating various pathologies. Under normal conditions, CB2R is primarily expressed in the immune system, but there is emerging evidence that various states of disease can lead to robust induction of this receptor. This suggests that CB2R is a viable therapeutic target and for this reason, molecules interacting with CB2R have been tested as potential treatments in a wide array of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal/inflammatory bowel disease; liver, kidney, lung, neuro-degenerative and psychiatric disorders; reproductive system and skin pathologies; inflammation; pain; cancer; and osteoporosis Through the years, researchers have designed and synthesized novel ligands targeting CB2R with a preference to be highly selective over the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) to avoid undesirable CB1dependent psychotropic effects. However, the clinical results using these CB2R ligands have been largely ineffective