The Neuroglial Dialog Between Cannabinoids and Hemichannels

Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

Rosario Gajardo-Gómez¹  Juan A. Orellana¹  Gonzalo I. Gómez¹  Valeria C. Labra¹  Cristian A. Santibáñez¹  Esteban F. Díaz¹ 

[1] Centro de Investigación y Estudio del Consumo de Alcohol en Adolescentes, Santiago, Chile;Departamento de Neurología, Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile;

关键词: astrocytes;    cannabis;    neurons;    connexins;    pannexins;    synaptic transmission;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnmol.2018.00079

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The formation of gap junctions was initially thought to be the central role of connexins, however, recent evidence had brought to light the high relevance of unopposed hemichannels as an independent mechanism for the selective release of biomolecules during physiological and pathological conditions. In the healthy brain, the physiological opening of astrocyte hemichannels modulates basal excitatory synaptic transmission. At the other end, the release of potentially neurotoxic compounds through astroglial hemichannels and pannexons has been insinuated as one of the functional alterations that negatively affect the progression of multiple brain diseases. Recent insights in this matter have suggested encannabinoids (eCBs) as molecules that could regulate the opening of these channels during diverse conditions. In this review, we discuss and hypothesize the possible interplay between the eCB system and the hemichannel/pannexon-mediated signaling in the inflamed brain and during event of synaptic plasticity. Most findings indicate that eCBs seem to counteract the activation of major neuroinflammatory pathways that lead to glia-mediated production of TNF-α and IL-1β, both well-known triggers of astroglial hemichannel opening. In contrast to the latter, in the normal brain, eCBs apparently elicit the Ca2+-activation of astrocyte hemichannels, which could have significant consequences on eCB-dependent synaptic plasticity.

【 授权许可】

Unknown