Biochemistry of the endogenous ligands of cannabinoid receptors

In 1992 the discovery of the first endogenous ligand of cannabinoid recepto rs, anandamide, provided conclusive support to the hypothesis that an "endo genous cannabinoid regulatory system" exists in mammalian nervous tissue. A nandamide (N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine) was the first of a series of long-c hain fatty acid derivatives, including two other polyunsaturated N-acyletha nolamines and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol, found to exert cannabimimetic proper ties in either central or peripheral tissues. Here we review the current kn owledge on the biochemical bases of the formation and inactivation of endog enous cannabinoid ligands as well as of their interaction with cannabinoid receptor subtypes. (C) 1998 Academic Press.