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Human Reproduction Update Advance Access originally published online on June 21, 2007
Human Reproduction Update 2007 13(5):501-513; doi:10.1093/humupd/dmm018
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The role of the endocannabinoid system in gametogenesis, implantation and early pregnancy

A.H. Taylor, C. Ang, S.C. Bell and J.C. Konje1

Endocannabinoid Research Group (ERG) Reproductive Sciences Section, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, PO Box 65, Leicester, Leicestershire LE2 7LX, UK

1 Correspondence address. Tel: +44-116-252-5826; Fax: +44-116-252-5846; E-mail: jck4{at}le.ac.uk

Maternal use of marijuana, in which the exocannabinoid {Delta}9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the most active psychoactive ingredient, is known to have adverse effects on various aspects of reproduction including ovulation, spermatogenesis, implantation and pregnancy duration. Endogenous cannabinoids of which Anandamide is the prototype are widely distributed in the body especially in the reproductive tract and pregnancy tissues and act through the same receptors as the receptor as {Delta}9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Anandamide, has been reported to have pleiotropic effects on human reproduction and in experimental animal models. It appears to be the important neuro-cytokine mediator synchronizing the embryo-endometrial development for timed implantation, the development of the embryo into the blastocyst and transport of the embryo across the fallopian tubes. The mechanisms by which it exerts these effects are unclear but could be via direct actions on the various sites within the reproductive system or its differential actions on vascular tone dependent. In this review article we bring together the current knowledge on the role of endoccanabinoids in reproduction and postulate on the potential mechanisms on how these affect reproduction. In addition, we examine its role on the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle as a potential mechanism for adverse pregnancy outcome.

Key words: anandamide / cannabinoid / pregnancy / fetal growth restriction / vascular bed

Received on January 22, 2007; revised April 24, 2007; accepted on May 15, 2007


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