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- Title
Endogenous Cannabinoid Receptor Ligand Induces the Migration of Human Natural Killer Cells.
- Authors
Kishimoto, Seishi; Muramatsu, Mayumi; Gokoh, Maiko; Oka, Saori; Waku, Keizo; Sugiura, Takayuki
- Abstract
2-Arachidonoylglycerol is an endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). Evidence is gradually accumulating which shows that 2-arachidonoylglycerol plays important physiological roles in several mammalian tissues and cells, yet the details remain ambiguous. In this study, we first examined the effects of 2-arachidonoylglycerol on the motility of human natural killer cells. We found that 2-arachidonoylglycerol induces the migration of KHYG-1 cells (a natural killer leukemia cell line) and human peripheral blood natural killer cells. The migration of natural killer cells induced by 2-arachidonoylglycerol was abolished by treating the cells with SR144528, a CB2 receptor antagonist, suggesting that the CB2 receptor is involved in the 2-arachidonoylglycerol–induced migration. In contrast to 2-arachidonoylglycerol, anandamide, another endogenous cannabinoid receptor ligand, did not induce the migration. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, a major psychoactive constituent of marijuana, also failed to induce the migration; instead, the addition of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol together with 2-arachidonoylglycerol abolished the migration induced by 2-arachidonoylglycerol. It is conceivable that the endogenous ligand for the cannabinoid receptor, that is, 2-arachidonoylglycerol, affects natural killer cell functions such as migration, thereby contributing to the host-defense mechanism against infectious viruses and tumor cells.
- Subjects
KILLER cells; IMMUNOCOMPETENT cells; LEUKEMIA; CELL-mediated cytotoxicity; CELL physiology; CELL lines
- Publication
Journal of Biochemistry, 2005, Vol 137, Issue 2, p217
- ISSN
0021-924X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jb/mvi021