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Abstract
There are reports of adverse effects of cannabinoids on pregnancy outcome including
retarded embryo development and pregnancy failure. Thus, discoveries of endogenous
cannabinoid-like lipid mediators and cannabinoid receptors raise questions about their
pathophysiological roles during normal pregnancy. We previously reported that anandamide,
an endogenously produced arachidonate derivative (endocannabinoid), is synthesized
in the female reproductive tracts, and it acts on cannabinoid receptors expressed
on the cell surface of the embryo to regulate the preimplantation embryo development
and implantation in mice. This review presents genetic, molecular, physiological and
pharmacological evidence that the levels of uterine anandamide and blastocyst CB1
cannabinoid receptors are coordinately regulated to synchronize preimplantation development
and uterine receptivity for implantation in mice.