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CP 55,940

Chemical compound

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CP 55,940 is a synthetic cannabinoid which mimics the effects of naturally occurring THC (one of the psychoactive compounds found in cannabis). CP 55,940 was created by Pfizer in 1974 but was never marketed. It is currently used as a research tool to study the endocannabinoid system.

01Pharmacology

CP 55,940 is 45 times more potent than Δ9-THC, and fully antagonized by rimonabant (SR141716A). It is considered a full agonist at both CB1 and CB2 receptors and has Ki values of 0.58 nM and 0.68 nM respectively, but is an antagonist at GPR55, the putative "CB3" receptor. CP 55,940 binding has been detected in the cytosol of rat brain cerebral cortex. It can upregulate 5-HT2A receptors in mice.

02In vitro studies

CP 55,940 induced cell death in NG 108-15 Mouse neuroblastoma x Rat glioma hybrid brain cancer (genetically engineered mouse x rat brain cancer) cells.

03In vivo studies

CP 55,940 showed protective effects on rat brain mitochondria upon paraquat exposure.

It also showed neuroprotective effects by reducing intracellular calcium release and reducing hippocampal cell death in cultured neurons subjected to high levels of NMDA.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article CP 55,940, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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