Human GPR119

Figure. Concentration-dependent activation of GPR119 by N‐oleoylethanolamine

Reporter cells were transfected with either the expression plasmid for human G protein-coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) or the mock plasmid and treated with various concentrations of N‐oleoylethanolamine. Data points shown are the mean ± SEM of an experiment (n = 3), and the curve is a fit to Hill equation with an EC50 of 6.3 µM.

Nomenclature
G protein-coupled receptor 119
Available assay modes
Agonist, Inverse agonist, Antagonist, PAM, NAM
Panels
à la carte, Human non-orphan GPCRs

Cannabinoid receptors

Cannabinoid receptors are activated by endogenous ligands that include N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), N-homo-γ-linolenoylethanolamine, N-docosatetra-7,10,13,16-enoylethanolamine and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Potency determinations of endogenous agonists at these receptors are complicated by the possibility of differential susceptibility of endogenous ligands to enzymatic conversion [1].

There are currently three licenced cannabinoid medicines each of which contains a compound that can activate CB1 and CB2 receptors [2]. Two of these medicines were developed to suppress nausea and vomiting produced by chemotherapy. These are nabilone (Cesamet®), a synthetic CB1/CB2 receptor agonist, and synthetic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Marinol®; dronabinol), which can also be used as an appetite stimulant. The third medicine, Sativex®, contains mainly Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, both extracted from cannabis, and is used to treat multiple sclerosis and cancer pain.

The cannabinoid receptor family is denoted by the abbreviation 'CB' and receptors are numbered by their order of discovery, denoted by a numerical subscript (e.g. CB1, CB2). Two cannabinoid receptors have been described to date.

The CB1 cannabinoid receptor has been cloned from rat [3], mouse [4] and human [5] tissues (97-99% amino acid (aa) sequence identity across species). Its structure is that of a seven-transmembrane domain (7TM) receptor [3] consistent with biochemical and cellular determinations of signal transduction via G proteins [6,7,8,9,10,11]. The CB1 receptor mRNA and protein are found primarily in brain and nervous tissue [3,12,13,14].

The CB2 cannabinoid receptor was discovered in a human leukemia HL60 library as a cDNA fragment that exhibited 68% homology with the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, and mRNA is found primarily in immune tissue [15]. Expressed CB2 receptor protein was shown to bind cannabinoid and aminoalkylindole compounds and to signal a response through the inhibition of adenylate cyclase [15,16,17,18,19]. The mouse [20] and rat [21] CB2 receptors have been cloned and exhibit 82% and 81% sequence identity, respectively to the human CB2 receptor.

Cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors are phylogenetically restricted to the chordate branch of the animal kingdom [22]. Among other established G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), those most closely related to CB1/CB2-type receptors are the lysophospholipid receptors S1P1, S1P2, S1P3, S1P4, S1P5, LPA1, LPA2 and LPA3. These receptors for endocannabinoids or lysophospholipid-like molecules have evolved independently in different branches of the GPCR superfamily but CB1 and CB2 are the only bona fide ‘cannabinoid receptors’ that have been identified to-date.

References

  1. Alexander SP, Kendall DA. The complications of promiscuity: endocannabinoid action and metabolism. Br J Pharmacol 2007;152:602-23.
  2. Pertwee RG. Targeting the endocannabinoid system with cannabinoid receptor agonists: pharmacological strategies and therapeutic possibilities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond, B, Biol Sci 2012;367:3353-63.
  3. Matsuda LA, Lolait SJ, Brownstein MJ, et al. Structure of a cannabinoid receptor and functional expression of the cloned cDNA. Nature 1990;346:561-4.
  4. Chakrabarti A, Onaivi ES, Chaudhuri G. Cloning and sequencing of a cDNA encoding the mouse brain-type cannabinoid receptor protein. DNA Seq 1995;5:385-8.
  5. Gérard C, Mollereau C, Vassart G, et al. Nucleotide sequence of a human cannabinoid receptor cDNA. Nucleic Acids Res 1990;18:7142.
  6. Pacheco M, Childers SR, Arnold R, et al. Aminoalkylindoles: actions on specific G-protein-linked receptors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1991;257:170-83.
  7. Howlett AC, Qualy JM, Khachatrian LL. Involvement of Gi in the inhibition of adenylate cyclase by cannabimimetic drugs. Mol Pharmacol 1986;29:307-13.
  8. Mackie K, Hille B. Cannabinoids inhibit N-type calcium channels in neuroblastoma-glioma cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1992;89:3825-9.
  9. Sim LJ, Selley DE, Childers SR. In vitro autoradiography of receptor-activated G proteins in rat brain by agonist-stimulated guanylyl 5'-[gamma-[35S]thio]-triphosphate binding. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1995;92:7242-6.
  10. Selley DE, Stark S, Childers SR. Cannabinoid receptor stimulation of [35S]GTPγS binding in rat brain membranes. Life Sci 1996;59:659-668.
  11. Childers SR, Deadwyler SA. Role of cyclic AMP in the actions of cannabinoid receptors. Biochem Pharmacol 1996;52:819-27.
  12. Herkenham M, Lynn AB, Little MD, et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1990;87:1932-6.
  13. Jansen EM, Haycock DA, Ward SJ, et al. Distribution of cannabinoid receptors in rat brain determined with aminoalkylindoles. Brain Res 1992;575:93-102.
  14. Mailleux P, Parmentier M, Vanderhaeghen JJ. Distribution of cannabinoid receptor messenger RNA in the human brain: an in situ hybridization histochemistry with oligonucleotides. Neurosci Lett 1992;143:200-4.
  15. Munro S, Thomas KL, Abu-Shaar M. Molecular characterization of a peripheral receptor for cannabinoids. Nature 1993;365:61-5.
  16. Felder CC, Joyce KE, Briley EM, et al. Comparison of the pharmacology and signal transduction of the human cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors. Mol Pharmacol 1995;48:443-50.
  17. Slipetz DM, O'Neill GP, Favreau L, et al. Activation of the human peripheral cannabinoid receptor results in inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. Mol Pharmacol 1995;48:352-61.
  18. Showalter VM, Compton DR, Martin BR, et al. Evaluation of binding in a transfected cell line expressing a peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2): identification of cannabinoid receptor subtype selective ligands. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1996;278:989-99.
  19. Bouaboula M, Poinot-Chazel C, Marchand J, et al. Signaling pathway associated with stimulation of CB2 peripheral cannabinoid receptor. Involvement of both mitogen-activated protein kinase and induction of Krox-24 expression. Eur J Biochem 1996;237:704-11.
  20. Shire D, Calandra B, Rinaldi-Carmona M, et al. Molecular cloning, expression and function of the murine CB2 peripheral cannabinoid receptor. Biochim Biophys Acta 1996;1307:132-6.
  21. Griffin G, Tao Q, Abood ME. Cloning and pharmacological characterization of the rat CB(2) cannabinoid receptor. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2000;292:886-94.
  22. Pertwee RG, Howlett AC, Abood ME, et al. International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. LXXIX. Cannabinoid receptors and their ligands: beyond CB₁ and CB₂. Pharmacol Rev 2010;62:588-631.
Excerpt from IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology

Related Receptors

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Human
CNR1
cannabinoid receptor 1
Human
CNR2
cannabinoid receptor 2
Human
GPR55
G protein-coupled receptor 55
Human
GPR119
G protein-coupled receptor 119
Mouse
Cnr1
cannabinoid receptor 1
Mouse
Gpr55
G protein-coupled receptor 55
Mouse
Gpr119
G-protein coupled receptor 119