Metabolic Messengers: endocannabinoids

Endocannabinoid signalling is considered one of the most important modulatory systems in a whole organism. Research has yielded great insight on the mechanisms that link endocannabinoids and metabolic functions. Here, we provide a brief overview of the metabolic roles of endocannabinoids in tissue, cellular and subcellular-dependent mechanisms. In general, we point out how the central and peripheral control of body energy metabolism likely represents the main function of type-1 cannabinoid receptors. More specifically, we focus on recent advances underlying mechanisms of endocannabinoid control of cell metabolism through the modulation of the functions of specific organelles. While highlighting a historical summary and summarizing past discoveries, this short review aims at proposing future open questions for a field that does not stop surprising researchers with unexpected and exciting discoveries. Busquets-García et al. provide a historical perspective of the discovery of endocannabinoid signalling and summarize the most recent findings on the role of endocannabinoids in the regulation of intracellular metabolism and its implications for whole-body homeostasis.