Mechanisms of neuroprotective effects of the endocannabinoid system following traumatic brain injury: a review
10.3760/cma.j.cn501098-20250218-00091
- VernacularTitle:内源性大麻素系统对创伤性脑损伤后神经保护作用的机制研究进展
- Author:
Chaogui PENG
1
;
Yangu GUO
;
Hantong SHI
;
Xianzheng SANG
;
Lijun HOU
Author Information
1. 海军军医大学第二附属医院神经外科，上海 200003
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Endocannabinoids;
Brain injuries;
Inflammation
- From:
Chinese Journal of Trauma
2025;41(7):702-708
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) involves both primary mechanical damage and refractory secondary injuries, resulting in high disability rate and poor prognosis. Current therapeutic strategies for TBI include surgical intervention, neuroprotective agents, moderate hypothermia therapy and spinal cord stimulation. However, most of these therapeutic approaches primarily address wound surface management rather than targeting specific pathogenic mechanisms underlying post-injury inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, resulting in suboptimal efficacy. Consequently, novel therapeutic strategies targeting TBI pathological mechanisms are urgently needed. The endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS) exerts multifaceted neuroprotective effects in TBI by modulating neuroinflammation, inhibiting glutamate excitotoxicity and activating pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt). Investigating the characteristics of ECS components and their related signaling pathways may yield new approaches in the development of neuroprotective drugs for TBI. Nevertheless, few ESC-targeting drugs for TBI treatment have advanced beyond preclinical or clinical trial phases. Breakthroughs in this field depend on a deeper understanding of ECS and its mechanisms in TBI. To this end, the authors reviewed researches on the composition and functions of ECS, as well as the mechanisms underlying its neuroprotective effects following TBI, aiming to provide references for the development of ECS-targeting therapies.
