Bone
The endocannabinoid system through CB2 signaling plays a key role in the maintenance of bone mass. CB2 is expressed in osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts. CB2 agonists enhance endocortical osteoblast number and activity while restraining trabecular osteoclastogenesis. Another important effect is that CB2 agonists attenuates ovariectomy-induced bone loss while increasing cortical thickness. These findings suggest CB2 offers a potential molecular target for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis.
Read more about this topic: Cannabinoid Receptor, Physiology
Famous quotes containing the word bone:
“Sang a bone upon the shore;
“A man if I but held him so
When my body was alive
Found all the pleasure that life gave”:
A bone wave-whitened and dried in the wind.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Here lies the body of William Jones
Who all his life collected bones,
Till Death, that grim and boney spectre,
That universal bone collector,
Boned old Jones, so neat and tidy,
And here he lies, all bona fide.”
—Anonymous. “Epitaph on William Jones,” from Eleanor Broughton’s Varia (1925)
“Osteopath—One who argues that all human ills are caused by the pressure of hard bone upon soft tissue. The proof of his theory is to be found in the heads of those who believe it.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)