Resumen de Development of selective cannabinoid nanoparticles to target the atheroma plaque
Lucía Martín Navarro, Carmen María Claro Cala, María Dolores Herrera González, Josefa Álvarez Fuentes, Lucía Martín Banderas
Atherosclerosis is the major cause of cardiovascular disease death in the developed world, for which there is no specific treatment. Currently, the endothelial dysfunction and the inflammatory process in atherosclerosis are related with the actions of the endocannabinoid system. Cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) is expressed in immune cells and is characterized for its anti-inflammatory properties, introducing CB2 agonists as a potential treatment. Given that these molecules have high lipophilicity and low availability, our research group has been exploring a platform of biodegradable, biocompatible and polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as selective CB2 agonist delivery systems. For this purpose, we selected JWH-133, a synthetic, selective and potent CB2 agonist. Moreover, since cell adhesion molecule VCAM-1 was highly expressed in the vascular endothelium of the atheroma plaque, NPs were functionalized with a VCAM-1 binding peptide (VCAM-1 BP) to target nanosystems in the atherosclerotic.
