Novel cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor ligands

Orthosteric ligands

Cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors are part of an important signalling system, the endocannabinoid system. They are involved in the modulation of different functions such as appetite, pain, immune response, cognition and others. Due to the interest generated by CB1 and CB2 receptors as therapeutic targets, different novel synthetic compounds belonging to different chemical families which could act as agonists or antagonists are currently being investigated.
The chemical structures with cannbinoid properties are diverse and include the natural phytocannbinoids, the endogenous ligands derived from fatty acid amides and a great variety of heterocyclic compounds.
In this project we deal with the design, synthesis and optimization of novel cannabinoid ligands to be studied in obesity, analgesia, and neuroprotection.

Allosteric ligands

In the last years there has been an increasing interest in the development of allosteric cannabinoid ligands. They bind to an allosteric site of the receptor and act as modulators of the effects of the binding-site cannabinoid ligands. Our aim is to develop new cannabinoid allosteric modulators incorporating novel scaffolds. This field has not been much explored, so this project can be regarded as an interesting challenge.

Nuevos ligandos de los receptores CB1 y CB2