Beat Lutz - Biography#

Since 1997, his group has dissected the diverse functions of endocannabinoid system and the cannabinoid CB1 receptor in different cell types and organ systems, by using the Cre/loxP system in mouse. Thereby, they have made major contributions to the mechanistic understanding of this lipid signaling system in fear and anxiety circuits, in stress coping, in neuroprotection and in the regulation of the brain’s neuronal excitability, in the fine-tuned regulation of synaptic transmission and homeostatic processes, and in neural development. They found a dichotomic function of CB1 receptor in the brain’s excitatory and inhibitory neurons in signaling, synaptic transmission and behavioral regulation. They furthermore contributed to the mechanistic underpinnings on how cannabinoids and endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors employ their effects, thus, promoted our insights into the beneficial and adversive effects of cannabinoids in health and disease, an important current issue in society.

His research fueled many other aspects of endocannabinoid research, whereby they have crucially been involved in. These studies include: olfactory perception, pain perception, spasticity in multiple sclerosis mouse models and the therapeutic potential of cannabis in this neurodegenerative disease, cannabis actions / endocannabinoid fuctions on neural developmentin endocannabinoid functions in several peripheral organs, including liver, involvement in the regulation of energy balance and feeding, discovery of CB1 receptor in mitochondria, discovery of novel endocannabinoid-like compounds, such as pepcan and lipoxin A4.

In summary, Prof. Lutz has given numerous novel insights into this body’s signaling system, and his discoveries have had important impacts on the field of endocannabinoid research, but also on neurosciences and physiology in general.