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JHC exPRESS: First Published February 18, 2008. doi:10.1369/jhc.2008.950741
Copyright © Histochemical Society, Inc.

A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2008.
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Articles

Cannabinoid CB1 Receptors Are Expressed by Parietal Cells of the Human Gastric Mucosa

María Ruth Pazos 1, Rosa María Tolón 1, Cristina Benito 1, Conrado Fernández Rodríguez 1, Juan José Gorgojo 1, Manuel Nevado 1, Mariano Álvarez 1, Francisco Arias 1, Francisca Almodóvar 1, María Teresa Pérez Fernández 1, José Luis Lledó 1, Sara González 1, José Javier Fernández-Ruiz 1 and Julián Romero 1*

1 Laboratory of Research and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (MRP,RMT,CB,JR,JJF-R), Unit of Gastroenterology (CFR,MTPF,JLL), Unit of Endocrinology (JJG,FAlmodóvar), Unit of Pathology (MN), Unit of Surgery (MA), and Unit of Psychiatry (FArias), Fundación Hospital Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain (JJF-R)

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jromerop{at}fhalcorcon.es.

Submitted on January 4, 2008
Accepted on 1 February 2008


  Abstract
Experimental data suggest that the endogenous cannabinoid system is involved in gastric function in different animal species. In most of them, CB1 receptors have been localized on vagal terminals innervating the external wall of the stomach. We aimed at studying the putative presence and distribution of these receptors in the human gastric mucosa. To this end, we first performed western blotting, RT-PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis of CB1 protein distribution in biopsy samples of healthy individuals. In order to determine the precise cell populations expressing CB1 receptors we then performed double immunofluorescence plus confocal microscopy analysis of the same samples. Our results show that CB1 receptors are present in the gastric epithelium of the mucosa. Specifically, they are expressed by a subpopulation of mucosal cells, the acid-secreting parietal cell, as revealed by double immunohistochemical staining and by their differencial abundance in subregions of the gastric mucosa. These results reinforce the notion of a prominent role for the endocannabinoid system in the gastric function in humans and postulate cannabinoid CB1 receptors in parietal cells as new therapeutic targets for the regulation of gastric acid production.

Key Words: cannabinoids, receptor, acid secretion, parietal cell


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