Comparison of Anandamide Transport in FAAH Wild-Type and Knockout Neurons:

Anandamide (AEA) is a member of a large class of endogenous signaling lipids called the fatty acid amides that modulate a number of physiological processes in both the nervous system and the periphery. Many of the actions of AEA are mediated by binding and activation of the central cannabinoid receptor CB1. o­ne hallmark of signaling molecules such as AEA is that enzymatic mechanisms exist for their biosynthesis and inactivation, and the elucidation of both metabolic pathways for AEA constitutes a major focus of current research. AEA appears to be produced from phospholipids in a stimulus-dependent manner by the consecutive action of two enzymes, a calcium-dependent transacylase and a phospholipase D, and inactivated by a two-step process involving the transport of this lipid into cells followed by intracellular hydrolysis by the integral membrane enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH).

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