Monoacylglycerol lipase: stopping surplus at the synapse.

摘要

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are a family of molecules derived from membrane phospholipids which exert biological effects through specific receptors. In the brain, eCBs are perhaps the most ubiquitous and potent neurotransmitters known to act in a retrograde manner. Within the field of endocannabinoid research, great effort has been directed towards dissecting metabolic pathways that regulate the production and degradation of eCBs. While much of this has been driven by the desire to produce better and more specific therapeutic targets, a happy by-product is, for basic neuroscientists, a better understanding of how eCBs function as signalling entities at discrete synapses in the brain.