Anandamide: some like it hot

Anandamide was the first endogenous ligand of cannabinoid receptors to be d iscovered in 1992. Yet, this compound also efficiently activates receptors specific for capsaicin, known as vanilloid type 1 receptors (VR1). Whether anandamide is a physiological VR1 ligand is controversial. However, very re cent reports demonstrate that activation of VR1 by anandamide can be signif icantly enhanced by various regulatory factors, suggesting that this compou nd might act as an 'endovanilloid' under certain conditions.