Until recently the cannabinoid CB2 receptor was believed to be absent from the central nervous system. In this study we have identified CB2 expressing cells that appear in the rat brain following stroke and hypoxic-ischemia. At 3 days following surgery CB2-positive macrophages, deriving from resident microglia and/or invading monocytes appear on the lesioned side of the brain. By day 7, a mixed population of CB2-positive cells is present. Microglia-derived macrophages are the key cells in the first stages of brain inflammation, and a pivotal step in the neurodegeneration that follows the acute stage of injury. Thus, CB2 may be important in the brain during injury, and in inflammatory neurodegenerative disorders. The presence of CB2-positive cells in the brain following stroke may provide a novel strategy for cannabinoid-mediated intervention into stroke induced neurodegeneration without the psychoactive effects of CB1 receptor stimulation.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	cannabinoid, CB2, hypoxia-ischemia, microglia, neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, stroke
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Neurosciences
Research Field:	Central nervous system
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
UTAS Author:	Sutherland, BA (Associate Professor Brad Sutherland)
ID Code:	113421
Year Published:	2007
Web of Science® Times Cited:	100
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Medicine
Deposited On:	2016-12-22
Last Modified:	2017-05-11
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