Identification and functional characterization of anandamide receptors in Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism.

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Anandamide, a member of endocannabinoids, is known to be involved in manyphysiological processes. CB1, CB2 and TRPV act as anandamide receptors in mammals. In addition, it has been suggested that mammals have an unidentified receptor CBx for anandamide. To identify new anandamide receptors, we performed a functional screening by using a nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism. As a result, we successfully identified new nematode seven-transmembrane receptors, designated as SFAH-1 and SFAH-2. SFAH-1 shows a weak similarity to CB1 and CB2 receptors, whereas SFAH-2 shows a similarity to a certain kind of vertebrate peptide receptor.