Activity of anandamide (AEA) metabolic enzymes in rat placental bed.
Reprod Toxicol
; 49: 74-7, 2014 Nov.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25088244
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 remodeling 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 remodeling in the placental bed, a process essential to pregnancy maintenance.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Placenta
/
Arachidonic Acids
/
Endocannabinoids
/
Polyunsaturated Alkamides
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Pregnancy
Language:
En
Journal:
Reprod Toxicol
Journal subject:
EMBRIOLOGIA
/
MEDICINA REPRODUTIVA
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Year:
2014
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Portugal