ABSTRACT

Despite a longstandinghistory of recreational and therapeutic use of phytocannabinoidsderived from Cannabis sativa, characterization of the endogenous cannabinoid system emerged only two decades ago with the identification of an endocannabinoid system comprising at least two specific G protein-coupled receptors (CB1 and CB2), their endogenous ligands [endocannabinoids, among which anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) are currently the best characterized] and a machinery dedicated to endocannabinoid synthesis and degradation (1,2). The subsequent development of subtype-selective receptor agonists and antagonists (3), and the availabililty of mice invalidated for CB1 or CB2 receptors (CB1 and CB2 KO) rapidly paved the way to characterization of varied and ubiquitous properties of cannabinoid receptors (4-6). However, functions of the cannabinoid system in liver pathophysiology came into focus very recently, probably given the low-expression level of CB1 and CB2 receptors in normal liver.