2014 Jul 31. pii: S0890-6238(14)00199-3. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2014.07.078. [Epub ahead of print]
Activity of anandamide (AEA) metabolic enzymes in rat placental bed.
Abstract
Endocannabinoids are endogenous lipid mediators, with anandamide (AEA) being the first member identified. It is now widely accepted that AEA influences early pregnancy events and its levels, which primarily depend on its synthesis by an N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine-specific phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD) and degradation by a fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), must be tightly regulated. Previous studies demonstrated that AEA levels require in situ regulation of these respective metabolic enzymes, and thus, any disturbance in AEA levels may impact maternal remodelling processes occurring during placental development. In this study, the activities of the AEA-metabolic enzymes that result in the establishment of proper local AEA levels during rat gestation were examined. Here, we demonstrate that during placentation NAPE-PLD and FAAH activities change in a temporal manner. Our findings suggest that NAPE-PLD and FAAH create the appropriate AEA levels required for tissue remodelling in the placental bed, a process essential to pregnancy maintenance.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.
KEYWORDS:
anandamide ;decidua; fatty acid amide hydrolase; placentation
- PMID:
- 25088244
- [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
