User:Anaffen21/sandbox

Most neurotransmitters are water-soluble and require transmembrane proteins to transport them across the cell membrane. The endocannabinoids (anandamide, AEA, and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, 2-AG) on the other hand, are non-charged lipids that readily cross lipid membranes. However, since the endocannabinoids are water immiscible, protein transporters have been described that act as carriers to solubilize and transport the endocannabinoids through the aqueous cytoplasm. These include the heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) and fatty acid binding proteins for anandamide (FABPs). FABP inhibitors prevent attenuate the breakdown of anandamide by the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) in cell culture. One of these inhibitors, isolated from a virtual library of a million compounds, belongs to a class of compounds (named the "truxilloids') that act as a potent anti-nociceptive agent with mild anti-inflammatory activity in mice . These truxillic acids and their derivatives have been known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects in mice and are active component of a Chinese herbal medicine (Incarvillea sinensis) used to treat rheumatism and pain in human. Presumably, the FABP transporters for anandamide is the mechanism by which these compounds act.