,

Endocannabinoid Metabolism and Traumatic Brain Injury

Authors

Dexiao Zhu, Fei Gao and Chu Chen


Published in Cells

November 2021

 

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a major cause of morbidity and disability and is a risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, no effective therapies are currently available for TBI-induced AD-like disease. Endocannabinoids are endogenous lipid mediators involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The compound 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is the most abundant endocannabinoid with profound anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. This molecule is predominantly metabolized by monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), a key enzyme degrading about 85% of 2-AG in the brain. Studies using animal models of inflammation, AD, and TBI provide evidence that inactivation of MAGL, which augments 2-AG signaling and reduces its metabolites, exerts neuroprotective effects, suggesting that MAGL is a promising therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases. In this short review, we provide an overview of the inhibition of 2-AG metabolism for the alleviation of neuropathology and the improvement of synaptic and cognitive functions after TBI.

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DOI: https:10.3390/cells10112979

 

Citation:

Zhu, D., Gao, F., & Chen, C. (2021). Endocannabinoid Metabolism and Traumatic Brain Injury. Cells, 10(11), 2979.