Novel Cannabinoid Receptor Ligands: Discovery, Pharmacology, and Therapeutic Applications
A Special Issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247) belonging to the section "Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 691
Editors
Interests: annabinoid research; allosteric/bitopic modulation; isotope-labeled compounds; imaging agents
Interests: cannabinoid research; allosteric/bitopic modulation; natural products; antioxidants; neurodegeneration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cannabinoids constitute a structurally diverse class of naturally occurring and synthetic compounds capable of modulating a wide range of cellular processes through specific cell-signaling pathways. They are commonly classified into three main categories: endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), phytocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids. Their biological effects primarily arise from interaction with cannabinoid receptors expressed on the cell surface. Cannabinoid receptors belong to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), one of the largest and most versatile classes of signaling proteins. Cannabinoids are known to interact predominantly with two receptor subtypes, namely cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2), whose activation or modulation triggers distinct intracellular signaling cascades regulating numerous physiological and pathological processes.
Growing interest in the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids has emerged from their involvement in a wide spectrum of diseases and conditions, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and other unmet medical needs. Consequently, cannabinoid receptor ligands represent highly attractive molecular templates for modern drug discovery. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain, including the identification of novel ligands with improved receptor selectivity, optimized signaling profiles, and enhanced safety margins.
Despite the limited number of cannabinoid-based drugs currently approved for clinical use, numerous candidates are under preclinical and clinical investigation, highlighting the largely untapped potential of cannabinoid receptor modulation.
This Special Issue of Pharmaceuticals welcomes both original research articles and comprehensive reviews focusing on recent advances in the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoid receptor ligands. The scope of this Special Issue will include classical and next-generation cannabinoid ligands, including allosteric modulators, biased and covalent ligands, proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs), and labeled chemical probes, to gain further insights into cannabinoid receptor function and dynamics and to unlock their potential in medicine.
Dr. Rebecca Ferrisi
Dr. Clementina Manera
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cannabinoid receptor modulators
- synthetic cannabinoids
- allosteric modulation
- biased signaling
- covalent ligands
- PROTACs
- cannabinoid probes
- inflammation
- CNS disorders
- cancer
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