High hopes for cannabinoid agonists in the treatment of rheumatic diseases

There are two well-characterised isoforms of cannabinoid receptor; CB(1) and CB(2) and of these CB(2) is under active investigation as a potential target for treatment of the chronic pain associated with widespread and intractable joint diseases osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The recent report by Fukuda et al (BMC Musculoskelet Disord15: 275, 2014) in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders investigates the efficacy of a selective CB(2) agonist, JW133, in both in vitro and in vivo models of rheumatoid arthritis and provides encouraging data. The report shows that JW133 inhibits expression of the CCL2 cytokine, osteoclastogenesis and reduces histological indicators of joint degeneration. Each of these could potentially contribute to beneficial analgesic effects in a therapeutic context. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-410) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.