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AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsBruce D. Hammock, Ahmet Bora Inceoglu
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The invention relates to the discovery that cis-epoxyeicosatraenoic acids (EETs) bind to and act as agonists of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor and the cannabinoid CB2 receptor. The invention provides methods of reducing symptoms of conditions whose activity is mediated by these receptors, including inhibiting anxiety, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells expressing peripheral benzodiazepine receptors, and reducing oxygen radical damage to cells, by contacting the cells with a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid, an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), or both. The invention further provides methods of inhibiting irritable bowel syndrome by administering to individuals with inhibiting irritable bowel syndrome a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid, an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), or both. In some embodiments, the method comprises administering to the individual a nucleic acid which inhibits expression of sEH.
A method of relieving a condition selected from the group consisting of anxiety, panic attacks, agitation, status epilepticus, other forms of epilepsy, symptoms of alcohol or opiate withdrawal, insomnia, or mania in a subject in need thereof, said method comprising administering to said subject an effective amount of an agent or agents selected from the group consisting of a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid (“EET”), an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (“sEH”), and a combination of an EET and an inhibitor of sEH, thereby relieving said condition in said subject.
A method of inhibiting growth of cancer cells expressing peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) or CB2 receptors, said method comprising contacting said cells with an effective amount of an agent or agents selected from the group consisting of a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid (“EET”), an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (“sEH”), and a combination of an EET and an inhibitor of sEH, thereby inhibiting the growth of said cancer cells.
A method of reducing oxygen radical damage to cells, said method comprising contacting said cells with an effective amount of an agent or agents selected from the group consisting of a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid (“BET”), an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (“sEH”), and a combination of an EET and an inhibitor of sEH, thereby reducing oxygen radical damage to said cells.
A method of relieving irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in a subject in need thereof, said method comprising administering to said subject an effective amount of an agent or agents selected from the group consisting of a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid (“EET”), an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (“sEH”), and a combination of an EET and an inhibitor of sEH, thereby relieving IBS in said subject.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.