Protein / target
Cannabinoid receptor 1
Protein at a glance
Biological role
G protein-coupled receptor activity
Primary system
Nervous system
Strongest disease association
obesity disorder
Therapeutic maturity
Clinically validated target
Druggability
Small molecule
Clinical development
4 approved · 8 in clinical development
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.
Function
G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoylethanolamide (also called anandamide or AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), as well as phytocannabinoids, such as delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (PubMed:15620723, PubMed:27768894, PubMed:27851727, PubMed:35637350). Mediates many cannabinoid-induced effects, acting, among others, on food intake, memory loss, gastrointestinal motility, catalepsy, ambulatory activity, anxiety, chronic pain. Signaling typically involves reduction in cyclic AMP (PubMed:1718258, PubMed:21895628, PubMed:27768894). In the hypothalamus, may have a dual effect on mitochondrial respiration depending upon the agonist dose and possibly upon the cell type. Increases respiration at low doses, while decreases respiration at high doses. At high doses, CNR1 signal transduction involves G protein alpha-i protein activation and subsequent inhibition of mitochondrial soluble adenylate cyclase, decrease in cyclic AMP concentration, inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent phosphorylation of specific subunits of the mitochondrial electron transport system, including NDUFS2. In the hypothalamus, inhibits leptin-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and mediates cannabinoid-induced increase in SREBF1 and FASN gene expression. In response to cannabinoids, drives the release of orexigenic beta-endorphin, but not that of melanocyte-stimulating hormone alpha/alpha-MSH, from hypothalamic POMC neurons, hence promoting food intake. In the hippocampus, regulates cellular respiration and energy production in response to cannabinoids. Involved in cannabinoid-dependent depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI), a process in which depolarization of CA1 postsynaptic pyramidal neurons mobilizes eCBs, which retrogradely activate presynaptic CB1 receptors, transiently decreasing GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmission. Also reduces excitatory synaptic transmission (By similarity). In superior cervical ganglions and cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells, inhibits voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels in a constitutive, as well as agonist-dependent manner (PubMed:17895407). In cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells, cannabinoid-induced inhibition of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels leads to vasodilation and decreased vascular tone (By similarity). Induces leptin production in adipocytes and reduces LRP2-mediated leptin clearance in the kidney, hence participating in hyperleptinemia. In adipose tissue, CNR1 signaling leads to increased expression of SREBF1, ACACA and FASN genes (By similarity). In the liver, activation by endocannabinoids leads to increased de novo lipogenesis and reduced fatty acid catabolism, associated with increased expression of SREBF1/SREBP-1, GCK, ACACA, ACACB and FASN genes. May also affect de novo cholesterol synthesis and HDL-cholesteryl ether uptake. Peripherally modulates energy metabolism (By similarity). In high carbohydrate diet-induced obesity, may decrease the expression of mitochondrial dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase/DLD in striated muscles, as well as that of selected glucose/ pyruvate metabolic enzymes, hence affecting energy expenditure through mitochondrial metabolism (By similarity). In response to cannabinoid anandamide, elicits a pro-inflammatory response in macrophages, which involves NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL1B and IL18 secretion (By similarity). In macrophages infiltrating pancreatic islets, this process may participate in the progression of type-2 diabetes and associated loss of pancreatic beta-cells (PubMed:23955712)
Subcellular location
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (17)Hide
Gene Ontology
- Ccytoplasm
- CGABA-ergic synapse
- Cglutamatergic synapse
- Cgrowth cone
- Cmembrane raft
- Cmitochondrial outer membrane
- Cplasma membrane
- Cpresynaptic membrane
- Fcannabinoid receptor activity
- FG protein-coupled receptor activity
- Fidentical protein binding
- Padenylate cyclase-activating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
Biological roles
What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.
View supporting evidenceHide supporting evidence
Synaptic signalling
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
- ·Presynapse
- ·GABA-ergic synapse
- ·glutamatergic synapse
G protein-coupled signalling
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
- ·G protein-coupled receptor activity
- ·adenylate cyclase-activating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
- ·adenylate cyclase-modulating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway
Inhibitory neurotransmission
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
- ·GABA-ergic synapse
Excitatory neurotransmission
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
- ·glutamatergic synapse
Kinase signalling
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
Immune signalling
- ·G protein-coupled receptor for endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs), including N-arachidonoyle…
View underlying pathways (2)Hide underlying pathways
Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.
Interaction neighbourhood
Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.
Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.
Drugs targeting this protein
Whether each drug engages this protein directly or through a complex, and how many other targets are recorded for it. Direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.
Cannabinoid CB1 receptor negative allosteric modulator
Appears in clinical studies involving Seizure, hamartoma, Dravet syndrome, encephalopathy, progressive, early-onset, with brain edema and/or leukoencephalopathy
Cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist
Appears in clinical studies involving Anorexia, cancer, Nausea and vomiting, Nausea
ChEMBL mechanism, action type and target identity. Open Targets clinical status and indications.
Translational evidence
Why this target matters therapeutically — disease associations, drugs in development, tractability and safety, from Open Targets.
Strongest genetic associations
Human genetic evidence — the most direct causal link between this target and a disease.
Highest-confidence therapeutic associations
Diseases where a drug acting on this target has already reached clinical development.
Highest overall evidence
Remaining associations by Open Targets' aggregated evidence score.
Show all associationsHide all associations
Open Targets ranks 959 associations for this target and we store the top 10 by aggregated score. The long tail is largely literature co-mention and RNA-expression evidence, not evidence that this target drives those diseases.
Known drugs · 12 total
Obesity · obesity disorder · type 2 diabetes mellitus
Obesity
ocular hypertension
Obesity · obesity disorder · metabolic syndrome
psychotic disorder · schizophrenia · Alzheimer disease
type 2 diabetes mellitus · Obesity · obesity disorder
Anorexia · cancer · Nausea and vomiting
diabetic kidney disease · gastroparesis · Obesity
Seizure · hamartoma · Dravet syndrome
Obesity · obesity disorder · nicotine dependence
Tractability
Safety liabilities
Clinical trials
Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein.
Show remaining trials (24)Hide
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
Forefront confidence
Our own weighting of the evidence behind each disease association. Human genetics and clinical evidence count for most; literature co-mention counts for little, because two entities sharing an abstract is not evidence that one drives the other.
The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the underlying per-type scores are shown above so the calculation can be checked.
What's happening now
Recent activity around this target, drawn from one canonical event stream. Every item is reached through 2 drugs that target this protein, so each event is news about that drug rather than about the protein directly.
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- New publicationPresynaptic nanoscale components of retrograde synaptic signaling.
- New publicationTherapeutic applicability of cannabidiol and other phytocannabinoids in epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease and in comorbidity with psychiatric disorders.
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- New publicationCannabidiol and its Potential Evidence-Based Psychiatric Benefits - A Critical Review.
- Indication expanded
Indication expansion: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- New publicationEmerging Therapeutic Potential of Cannabidiol (CBD) in Neurological Disorders: A Comprehensive Review.
- Label change
Label change: CANNABIDIOL (NDA210365)
- New publicationTherapeutic Potential of Cannabis, Cannabidiol, and Cannabinoid-Based Pharmaceuticals.
Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.