On the tracks of endocannabinoids in C. elegans.

PORTA, E.; GALLES, C.; ISERN, J. A.; PREZ, G. M.

Río de Janeiro

Congreso; BrazMedChem 2016; 2016

Fatty Acids are highly variable in their structures, and these variations greatly contribute to the vast diversity that exists in lipid architectures. We have recently found that down-regulation of de novo fatty acid synthesis in the nematode C. elegans alters its developmental program to enter a state of larvalarrest, named dauer diapause, which is a long-lived stress-resistant stage. Furthermore, we found that the addition of two exogenous endocannabinoids(eCBs), 2-arachidonylglycerol (2AG) and Anandamide (AEA), prevents this dauer arrest, induced by deprivation of lipid synthesis, and promotes reproductive growth. Like most invertebrates, this animal does not present sequences homologous to mammalian cannabinoid receptor proteins.These findings thus provide a tractable system for investigating the mechanisms of eCB-mediated control of nutrient intake and energy balance.