Characterisation of the cannabinoid receptor system in synovial tissue and fluid in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis

Table 2 Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity in synovial tissue from osteoarthritis (n = 5) and rheumatoid arthritis (n = 4) patients

	FAAH activity (pmol/minute/mg protein)
Tissue	Control	+ URB597
Osteoarthritis synovium	2.8 ± 0.46	Undetectable
Rheumatoid arthritis synovium	1.6 ± 0.42	Undetectable
Rat liver	988 ± 84	1.28 ± 0.51

FAAH activity was measured by monitoring the release of [³H]-ethanolamine after incubation of homogenates with [³H]-anandamide. Each sample was processed in three separate experiments. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. URB597, 3'-(aminocarbonyl) [1,1'-biphenyl]-3-yl)-cyclohexylcarbamate.

ISSN: 1478-6362