Pouya Movahed

Bio: Pouya Movahed is an academic researcher from Lund University. The author has contributed to research in topics: TRPV1 & Capsazepine. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 9 publications receiving 1459 citations.

Pungent products from garlic activate the sensory ion channel TRPA1

Abstract: Garlic belongs to the Allium family of plants that produce organosulfur compounds, such as allicin and diallyl disulfide (DADS), which account for their pungency and spicy aroma. Many health benefits have been ascribed to Allium extracts, including hypotensive and vasorelaxant activities. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. Intriguingly, allicin and DADS share structural similarities with allyl isothiocyanate, the pungent ingredient in wasabi and other mustard plants that induces pain and inflammation by activating TRPA1, an excitatory ion channel on primary sensory neurons of the pain pathway. Here we show that allicin and DADS excite an allyl isothiocyanate-sensitive subpopulation of sensory neurons and induce vasodilation by activating capsaicin-sensitive perivascular sensory nerve endings. Moreover, allicin and DADS activate the cloned TRPA1 channel when expressed in heterologous systems. These and other results suggest that garlic excites sensory neurons primarily through activation of TRPA1. Thus different plant genera, including Allium and Brassica, have developed evolutionary convergent strategies that target TRPA1 channels on sensory nerve endings to achieve chemical deterrence.

Monoacylglycerols Activate TRPV1-A Link between Phospholipase C and TRPV1

Abstract: Phospholipase C-mediated hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate generates diacylglycerol, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and protons, all of which can regulate TRPV1 activity via different mechanisms. Here we explored the possibility that the diacylglycerol metabolites 2-arachidonoylglycerol and 1-arachidonoylglycerol, and not metabolites of these monoacylglycerols, activate TRPV1 and contribute to this signaling cascade. 2-Arachidonoylglycerol and 1-arachidonoylglycerol activated native TRPV1 on vascular sensory nerve fibers and heterologously expressed TRPV1 in whole cells and inside-out membrane patches. The monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitors methylarachidonoyl-fluorophosphonate and JZL184 prevented the metabolism of deuterium-labeled 2-arachidonoylglycerol and deuterium-labeled 1-arachidonoylglycerol in arterial homogenates, and enhanced TRPV1-mediated vasodilator responses to both monoacylglycerols. In mesenteric arteries from TRPV1 knock-out mice, vasodilator responses to 2-arachidonoylglycerol were minor. Bradykinin and adenosine triphosphate, ligands of phospholipase C-coupled membrane receptors, increased the content of 2-arachidonoylglycerol in dorsal root ganglia. In HEK293 cells expressing the phospholipase C-coupled histamine H1 receptor, exposure to histamine stimulated the formation of 2-AG, and this effect was augmented in the presence of JZL184. These effects were prevented by the diacylglycerol lipase inhibitor tetrahydrolipstatin. Histamine induced large whole cell currents in HEK293 cells co-expressing TRPV1 and the histamine H1 receptor, and the TRPV1 antagonist capsazepine abolished these currents. JZL184 increased the histamine-induced currents and tetrahydrolipstatin prevented this effect. The calcineurin inhibitor ciclosporin and the endogenous "entourage" compound palmitoylethanolamide potentiated the vasodilator response to 2-arachidonoylglycerol, disclosing TRPV1 activation of this monoacylglycerol at nanomolar concentrations. Furthermore, intracerebroventricular injection of JZL184 produced TRPV1-dependent antinociception in the mouse formalin test. Our results show that intact 2-arachidonoylglycerol and 1-arachidonoylglycerol are endogenous TRPV1 activators, contributing to phospholipase C-dependent TRPV1 channel activation and TRPV1-mediated antinociceptive signaling in the brain.

Vanilloid receptors on capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves mediate relaxation to methanandamide in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed and small mesenteric arteries.

Abstract: In the present study, the vasodilator actions of methanandamide and capsaicin in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed and small mesenteric arterial segments were investigated. Methanandamide elicited concentration-dependent relaxations of preconstricted mesenteric arterial beds (pEC(50)=6.0+/-0.1, E(max)=87+/-3%) and arterial segments (pEC(50)=6.4+/-0.1, E(max)=93+/-3%). In arterial beds, in vitro capsaicin pre-treatment blocked vasorelaxation to 1 and 3 microM methanandamide, and reduced to 12+/-7% vasorelaxation to 10 microM methanandamide. Methanandamide failed to relax arterial segments pre-treated in vitro with capsaicin. In arterial beds from rats treated as neonates with capsaicin to cause destruction of primary afferent nerves, methanandamide at 1 and 3 microM did not evoke vasorelaxation, and relaxation at 10 microM methanandamide was reduced to 26+/-4%. Ruthenium red (0.1 microM), an inhibitor of vanilloid responses, attenuated vasorelaxation to methanandamide in arterial beds (pEC(50)=5.6+/-0.1, E(max)=89+/-1%). Ruthenium red at 1 microM abolished the response to 1 microM methanandamide, and greatly attenuated relaxation at 3 and 10 microM methanandamide in arterial beds. In arterial segments, ruthenium red (0.15 microM) blocked vasorelaxation to methanandamide, but not to CGRP. In arterial segments, the vanilloid receptor antagonist capsazepine (1 microM) inhibited, and the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist CGRP(8 - 37) (3 microM) abolished, methanandamide-induced relaxations. CGRP(8 - 37), but not capsazepine, attenuated significantly relaxation to exogenous CGRP. These data show that capsaicin and ruthenium red attenuate vasorelaxation to methanandamide in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed and small mesenteric arterial segments. In addition, CGRP(8 - 37) and capsazepine antagonize responses to methanandamide in mesenteric arterial segments. In conclusion, vanilloid receptors on capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves play an important role in the vasorelaxant action of methanandamide in the rat isolated mesenteric arterial bed and small mesenteric arterial segments.

International Union of Pharmacology. XXVII. Classification of Cannabinoid Receptors

Abstract: Two types of cannabinoid receptor have been discovered so far, CB(1) (2.1: CBD:1:CB1:), cloned in 1990, and CB(2) (2.1:CBD:2:CB2:), cloned in 1993. Distinction between these receptors is based on differences in their predicted amino acid sequence, signaling mechanisms, tissue distribution, and sensitivity to certain potent agonists and antagonists that show marked selectivity for one or the other receptor type. Cannabinoid receptors CB(1) and CB(2) exhibit 48% amino acid sequence identity. Both receptor types are coupled through G proteins to adenylyl cyclase and mitogen-activated protein kinase. CB(1) receptors are also coupled through G proteins to several types of calcium and potassium channels. These receptors exist primarily on central and peripheral neurons, one of their functions being to inhibit neurotransmitter release. Indeed, endogenous CB(1) agonists probably serve as retrograde synaptic messengers. CB(2) receptors are present mainly on immune cells. Such cells also express CB(1) receptors, albeit to a lesser extent, with both receptor types exerting a broad spectrum of immune effects that includes modulation of cytokine release. Of several endogenous agonists for cannabinoid receptors identified thus far, the most notable are arachidonoylethanolamide, 2-arachidonoylglycerol, and 2-arachidonylglyceryl ether. It is unclear whether these eicosanoid molecules are the only, or primary, endogenous agonists. Hence, we consider it premature to rename cannabinoid receptors after an endogenous agonist as is recommended by the International Union of Pharmacology Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification. Although pharmacological evidence for the existence of additional types of cannabinoid receptor is emerging, other kinds of supporting evidence are still lacking.

The Endocannabinoid System as an Emerging Target of Pharmacotherapy

Abstract: The recent identification of cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous lipid ligands has triggered an exponential growth of studies exploring the endocannabinoid system and its regulatory functions in health and disease. Such studies have been greatly facilitated by the introduction of selective cannabinoid receptor antagonists and inhibitors of endocannabinoid metabolism and transport, as well as mice deficient in cannabinoid receptors or the endocannabinoid-degrading enzyme fatty acid amidohydrolase. In the past decade, the endocannabinoid system has been implicated in a growing number of physiological functions, both in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in peripheral organs. More importantly, modulating the activity of the endocannabinoid system turned out to hold therapeutic promise in a wide range of disparate diseases and pathological conditions, ranging from mood and anxiety disorders, movement disorders such as Parkinson9s and Huntington9s disease, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, to cancer, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, glaucoma, obesity/metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis, to name just a few. An impediment to the development of cannabinoid medications has been the socially unacceptable psychoactive properties of plant-derived or synthetic agonists, mediated by CB 1 receptors. However, this problem does not arise when the therapeutic aim is achieved by treatment with a CB 1 receptor antagonist, such as in obesity, and may also be absent when the action of endocannabinoids is enhanced indirectly through blocking their metabolism or transport. The use of selective CB 2 receptor agonists, which lack psychoactive properties, could represent another promising avenue for certain conditions. The abuse potential of plant-derived cannabinoids may also be limited through the use of preparations with controlled composition and the careful selection of dose and route of administration. The growing number of preclinical studies and clinical trials with compounds that modulate the endocannabinoid system will probably result in novel therapeutic approaches in a number of diseases for which current treatments do not fully address the patients9 need. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview on the current state of knowledge of the endocannabinoid system as a target of pharmacotherapy.

The Vanilloid Receptor: A Molecular Gateway to the Pain Pathway

Abstract: ▪ Abstract The detection of painful stimuli occurs primarily at the peripheral terminals of specialized sensory neurons called nociceptors. These small-diameter neurons transduce signals of a chemical, mechanical, or thermal nature into action potentials and transmit this information to the central nervous system, ultimately eliciting a perception of pain or discomfort. Little is known about the proteins that detect noxious stimuli, especially those of a physical nature. Here we review recent advances in the molecular characterization of the capsaicin (vanilloid) receptor, an excitatory ion channel expressed by nociceptors, which contributes to the detection and integration of pain-producing chemical and thermal stimuli. The analysis of vanilloid receptor gene knockout mice confirms the involvement of this channel in pain sensation, as well as in hypersensitivity to noxious stimuli following tissue injury. At the same time, these studies demonstrate the existence of redundant mechanisms for the sensation ...

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. LXXIX. Cannabinoid Receptors and Their Ligands: Beyond CB1 and CB2

Abstract: There are at least two types of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). Ligands activating these G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) include the phytocannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, numerous synthetic compounds, and endogenous compounds known as endocannabinoids. Cannabinoid receptor antagonists have also been developed. Some of these ligands activate or block one type of cannabinoid receptor more potently than the other type. This review summarizes current data indicating the extent to which cannabinoid receptor ligands undergo orthosteric or allosteric interactions with non-CB1, non-CB2 established GPCRs, deorphanized receptors such as GPR55, ligand-gated ion channels, transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, and other ion channels or peroxisome proliferator-activated nuclear receptors. From these data, it is clear that some ligands that interact similarly with CB1 and/or CB2 receptors are likely to display significantly different pharmacological profiles. The review also lists some criteria that any novel “CB3” cannabinoid receptor or channel should fulfil and concludes that these criteria are not currently met by any non-CB1, non-CB2 pharmacological receptor or channel. However, it does identify certain pharmacological targets that should be investigated further as potential CB3 receptors or channels. These include TRP vanilloid 1, which possibly functions as an ionotropic cannabinoid receptor under physiological and/or pathological conditions, and some deorphanized GPCRs. Also discussed are 1) the ability of CB1 receptors to form heteromeric complexes with certain other GPCRs, 2) phylogenetic relationships that exist between CB1/CB2 receptors and other GPCRs, 3) evidence for the existence of several as-yet-uncharacterized non-CB1, non-CB2 cannabinoid receptors; and 4) current cannabinoid receptor nomenclature.