Endocannabinoids and Reproduction
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International Journal of Endocrinology Endocannabinoids and Reproduction Guest Editors: Rosaria Meccariello, Natalia Battista, Heather B. Bradshaw, and Haibin Wang Endocannabinoids and Reproduction International Journal of Endocrinology Endocannabinoids and Reproduction Guest Editors: Rosaria Meccariello, Natalia Battista, Heather B. Bradshaw, and Haibin Wang Copyright © 2014 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. This is a special issue published in “International Journal of Endocrinology.” All articles are open access articles distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Editorial Board Anil K. Agarwal, USA K. Hussain, UK Muhammad Shahab, Pakistan Stephen L. Atkin, UK Daniela Jezova, Slovakia Kazuhiro Shiizaki, Japan John Ayuk, UK J. Karalliedde, UK Kevin Sinchak, USA Amelie Bonnefond, France Małgorzata Kotula-Balak, Poland Stacia A. Sower, USA Shern L. Chew, UK Fernand Labrie, Canada Ajai Kumar Srivastav, India F. X. Donadeu, UK Mario Maggi, Italy Stanko S. Stojilkovic, USA Maria L. Dufau, USA Robert D. Murray, UK Robert S. Tan, USA Kristin Eckardt, Germany Maria New, USA Stuart Tobet, USA Dariush Elahi, USA Faustino R. Perez-L´ opez,´ Spain Jack R. Wall, Australia Oreste Gualillo, Spain Ursula Plockinger,¨ Germany Paul M. Yen, USA A. Hoflich,¨ Germany Alexander Schreiber, USA Naveed Younis, United Kingdom Contents Endocannabinoids and Reproduction, Rosaria Meccariello, Natalia Battista, Heather B. Bradshaw, and Haibin Wang Volume 2014, Article ID 378069, 2 pages Updates in Reproduction Coming from the Endocannabinoid System, Rosaria Meccariello, Natalia Battista, Heather B. Bradshaw, and Haibin Wang Volume 2014, Article ID 412354, 16 pages The Endocannabinoid System and Sex Steroid Hormone-Dependent Cancers, Thangesweran Ayakannu, Anthony H. Taylor, Timothy H. Marczylo, Jonathon M. Willets, and Justin C. Konje Volume 2013, Article ID 259676, 14 pages Brain Levels of Prostaglandins, Endocannabinoids, and Related Lipids Are Affected by Mating Strategies,JordynM.Stuart,JasonJ.Paris,CherylFrye,andHeatherB.Bradshaw Volume 2013, Article ID 436252, 14 pages Estrogens and Spermiogenesis: New Insights from Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor Knockout Mice, Giovanna Cacciola, Teresa Chioccarelli, Silvia Fasano, Riccardo Pierantoni, and Gilda Cobellis Volume 2013, Article ID 501350, 12 pages The Endocannabinoid System in the Postimplantation Period: A Role during Decidualization and Placentation,B.M.Fonseca,G.Correia-da-Silva,M.Almada,M.A.Costa,andN.A.Teixeira Volume 2013, Article ID 510540, 11 pages Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Central Regulation of Nonmammalian Vertebrate Reproduction, Erika Cottone, Valentina Pomatto, and Patrizia Bovolin Volume 2013, Article ID 941237, 8 pages Endocannabinoids and Endovanilloids: A Possible Balance in the Regulation of the Testicular GnRH Signalling, Rosanna Chianese, Vincenza Ciaramella, Donatella Scarpa, Silvia Fasano, Riccardo Pierantoni, and Rosaria Meccariello Volume 2013, Article ID 904748, 9 pages Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Endocrinology Volume 2013, Article ID 378069, 2 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/378069 Editorial Endocannabinoids and Reproduction Rosaria Meccariello,1 Natalia Battista,2,3 Heather B. Bradshaw,4 and Haibin Wang5 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Motorie e del Benessere, Universita` di Napoli Parthenope, 80133 Naples, Italy 2 Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, Italy 3 European Center for Brain Research (CERC)/Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy 4 Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Indiana University,Bloomington,IN47405,USA 5 State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China Correspondence should be addressed to Rosaria Meccariello; [email protected] Received 9 December 2013; Accepted 9 December 2013 Copyright © 2013 Rosaria Meccariello et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Infertilityisaworldwidereproductivehealthproblemwhose The papers submitted to this special issue in the Interna- consequences have deep psychological and social impact tional Journal of Endocrinology take into account the mul- in health, demographic change, and wellbeing. Thus, the tifaceted aspects of reproduction. Basic and evolutionarily knowledge of basic, conserved modulators of reproduction conserved mechanisms of endocannabinoid activity in repro- might contribute to the discovery of new potential target ductionhavealsobeenincluded.E.Cottoneetal.submitted for the exploitation of drugs to treat infertility in humans. an extensive review on the role of the endocannabinoids Besides the well known effects of endocannabinoids in the in the central regulation of reproduction in nonmammalian control of pain and visceral functions, in the last decade the vertebrates, especially fish and amphibian; they correlate the deep involvement of endocannabinoid system in the control morphofunctional distribution of cannabinoid receptors to of reproductive functions in both males and females emerged. key molecules involved in the control of reproductive func- In fact, endocannabinoids, endogenous lipids that bind to tions, such as Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH), cannabinoid receptors, modulate reproductive axis at both dopamine, aromatase, and pituitary gonadotropins. central and local level. Endocannabinoid signalling is critical The role of the endocannabinoid system as an ancient sig- for gonadotropin release and sex steroid biosynthesis, for the nalling system, that has been evolved over 500 million years, formation of functional male and female gametes, for fertil- ishighlightedinthepaperofR.Chianeseetal.thatreportsthe ization, preimplantation embryo development, implantation, presence of endocannabinoids in a nonmammalian model, and postimplantation embryonic growth, and for labouring theanuranamphibianRana esculenta,andthefunctional delivery as well. Endocannabinoids are also involved in the crosstalk between these bioactive lipids and the GnRH neuroendocrine control of reproduction functions through system, shedding light on their different regulation in the the modulation of stress, food intake, appetite, and sex- brain and in the testis. In particular, a new role for vanilloid ual behaviour. Recently, new roles in sperm “startup” and receptor emerged in the modulation of testicular GnRH gamete quality emerged and impairment of the physiological system (both ligands and receptors) providing evidence that endocannabinoid tone and signalling has been reported in an opposite regulation occurs via type-1 cannabinoid receptor clinical cases of human infertility. Our hope is that this special and vanilloid receptor signalling. issue may be important and timely since a deep knowl- The paper of G. Cacciola et al. is a very interesting edge of endocannabinoid system in reproduction might and comprehensive review on the pivotal role played by open new perspectives in clinical applications, pointing to type-1 cannabinoid receptor in spermiogenesis and on its endocannabinoid signalling as a novel target for correcting involvement in the chromatin remodelling process that might infertility, and for improving reproductive health in humans. affect negatively the sperm quality. The emerging evidences 2 International Journal of Endocrinology on estrogen activity in sperm quality are deeply detailed in a knock-out animal model, opening new intriguing per- spectives in the clinical practice for the treatment of male infertility. The deep involvement of endocannabinoid signalling in driving the neurophysiological outcomes of mating behaviourshasbeenreportedintheresearcharticlesubmit- tedbyJ.M.Stuartetal.Bymeansoflipidomictechniques, this group demonstrates that the levels of endocannabinoids, prostaglandins, and N-acylethanolamines rapidly change in specific brain areas in relationship to different mating strategies providing evidence that the endogenous cannabi- noid systems is rapidly modified in response to changes in environment. In the context of the signalling events of pregnancy, B. M. Fonseca et al. presented the most recent progress on the endo- cannabinoid regulatory functions during decidualization and placentation. They summarized that while the endocannabi- noid machinery was found to be expressed in decidual and placental tissues, aberrant endocannabinoid signalling was associated with pregnancy disorders, highlighting the content that the endocannabinoid signalling is a potential player coordinating successful decidualization and placentation. All of these papers have illustrated the potential regula- tory interactions of sex steroid hormones with the endoge- nous cannabinoid system and how they allow reproduction to optimally function. The outstanding review by T. Ayakannu et al. that details the latest understandings of how sex steroids and the endogenous cannabinoid system work synergistically in a variety of cancers truly illustrates how the malfunctions of these signalling mechanisms can have dire effects. Using data from prostate, breast, and endometrial cancers, the review from Konje’s