Identification of a cannabinoid receptor as target to promote resilience in major depressive disorders
One out of every five people will suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) in their lifetime, and about 30-50% of individuals with depression are unresponsive to commonly prescribed antidepressant treatments, suggesting that biological mechanisms remain untreated. Recent evidence suggests that the blood-brain barrier, which is responsible for regulating molecular exchange between the periphery and the brain, is altered in MDD and by chronic stress, which is the main environmental risk factor for depression. A new study by Katarzyna Anna Dudek, working in the laboratory of Caroline Ménard at Université Laval, identified a brain receptor for cannabinoids that promotes resilience by dampening stress induced blood-brain barrier alterations.
Read the scientific publication:
Dudek, K. A., Paton, S. E. J., Binder, L. B., Collignon, A., Dion-Albert, L., Cadoret, A., Lebel, M., Lavoie, O., Bouchard, J., Kaufmann, F. N., Clavet-Fournier, V., Manca, C., Guzmán, M., Campbell, M., Turecki, G., Mechawar, N., Flamand, N., Lavoie-Cardinal, F., Silvestri, C., Di Marzo, V., … Menard, C. (2025). Astrocytic cannabinoid receptor 1 promotes resilience by dampening stress-induced blood-brain barrier alterations. Nature neuroscience, 28(4), 766–782. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-01891-9
