Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32117037›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in neurology2020

Endocannabinoid Modulation of Microglial Phenotypes in Neuropathology.

Mikiei Tanaka, Scott Sackett, Yumin Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in neurology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
68citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
13.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

68 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Effects of Cannabinoids on Ischemic Stroke-Associated Neuroinflammation: A Systematic Review.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
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  6. Review
  7. Article
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  14. The Role of Microglial Exosomes in Clozapine Treatment: Effect on Cognition in Schizophrenia.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2025
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Mechanisms of Abnormal Lipid Metabolism in the Pathogenesis of Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  18. P2XBritish journal of pharmacology · 2024
    Article
  19. Potential of CBD Acting on Cannabinoid Receptors CBInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  20. Review

8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mikiei TanakaDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Scott SackettDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Yumin ZhangDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, mediate brain homeostasis by controlling neuronal proliferation/differentiation and synaptic activity. In response to external signals from neuropathological conditions, homeostatic (M0) microglia can adopt one of two activation states: the classical (M1) activation state, which secretes mediators of the proinflammatory response, and the alternative (M2) activation state, which presumably mediates the resolution of neuroinflammation and tissue repair/remodeling. Since chronic inflammatory activation of microglia is correlated with several neurodegenerative diseases, functional modulation of microglial phenotypes has been considered as a potential therapeutic strategy. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, composed of cannabinoid receptors and ligands and their metabolic/biosynthetic enzymes, has been shown to activate anti-inflammatory signaling pathways that modulate immune cell functions. Growing evidence has demonstrated that endogenous, synthetic, and plant-derived eCB agonists possess therapeutic effects on several neuropathologies; however, the molecular mechanisms that mediate the anti-inflammatory effects have not yet been identified. Over the last decade, it has been revealed that the eCB system modulates microglial activation and population. In this review, we thoroughly examine recent studies on microglial phenotype modulation by eCB in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease conditions. We hypothesize that cannabinoid 2 receptor (CB2R) signaling shifts the balance of expression between neuroinflammatory (M1-type) genes, neuroprotective (M2-type) genes, and homeostatic (M0-type) genes toward the latter two gene expressions, by which microglia acquire therapeutic functionality.

Indexed as

alternative activationanimal disease modelCB2 receptor agonistendocannabinoidsimmunomodulationM0/M1/M2 polarizationmicroglia subtypeneuroinflammation

Identifiers

PMID32117037
PMCPMC7033501
OpenAlexW3006518949

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.