News & Events

When

Date - March 20, 2019
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

What

CHE 751 Literature Seminar
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Patricia Reggio
Talk Title: Anandamide’s Journey to Fatty Acid Amid Hydrolase

Abstract:

An endogenous ligand of the cannabinoid receptor, anandamide, has been shown to act as a retrograde
neurotransmitter that gets degraded by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). However, how anandamide
gets to FAAH after activating CB1 has been much disputed by experts in the field. While some believe
temperature dependence and ligand selectivity are indicative of facilitated diffusion, others argue that
those criteria are flaws in experimental design and that simple diffusion is the clear-cut answer. This
talk will examine data supporting each argument and provide insight into this controversy.