Nematode worms (C. elegans) display a similar response to cannabinoids as humans, preferring their favorite foods when exposed to the substances, according to a study in Current Biology. This finding, conserved through millions of years of evolution, may lead to drug screening targeting cannabinoid
Marijuana is well known for giving people the “munchies.” Not only does it make people want to eat more, but it also makes them crave the tastiest, most high-calorie foods. Now a new study in the journalon April 20 shows that well-studied nematode worms react to those chemicals known as cannabinoids in precisely the same way.
Image of worm that is genetically engineered so that certain neurons and muscles are fluorescent. Green dots are neurons that respond to cannabinoids. Magenta dots are other neurons. Credit: Stacy Levichev At the molecular level, the cannabinoid system in nematodes looks a lot like that in people and other animals. It begged the question as to whether the so-called hedonic feeding effects of cannabinoids also would be conserved acrossVideo of worms in a T-maze. Favored/superior food is at the end of the left arm. Non-favored/inferior food is at the end of the right arm. The video shows 15 min of real-time behavior in 5 sec, so time is speeded up by a factor of 180.
“Cannabinoid signaling is present in the majority of tissues in our body,” he said. “It therefore could be involved in the cause and treatment of a wide range of diseases. The fact that the human cannabinoid receptor gene is functional infood-choice experiments sets the stage for rapid and inexpensive screening for drugs that target a wide variety of proteins involved in cannabinoid signaling and metabolism, with profound implications for human health.
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