![Professor Roger Pertwee Professor Roger Pertwee](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/pha040/roger-pertwee.jpg?size=4746)
Emeritus Professor
- About
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- Email Address
- rgp@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
School of Medical Sciences Institute of Medical Sciences University of Aberdeen Foresterhill Aberdeen AB25 2ZD Scotland, UK
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
Roger Pertwee has three degrees from the University of Oxford: MA (in biochemistry), D.Phil. (in pharmacology) and D.Sc. (in physiological sciences). He is now an Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen, where he is still actively engaged in scientific research. He is also co-chairman of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Subcommittee on Cannabinoid Receptors, a co-ordinator of the British Pharmacological Society’s Special Interest Group on Cannabinoids, a co-founder of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) <http://icrs.co/> , and an invited scientific advisor on cannabinoid pharmacology/therapeutics to the Beckley Foundation <http://beckleyfoundation.org/about/advisory-boards/>, has had formal cannabinoid pharmacology-related links with several pharmaceutical companies, and currently has such a link with GW Pharmaceuticals. He has served too, twice as President of the ICRS (1997-1998 and 2007-2008), and once as Chairman of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM; 2005-2007), and is also currently ICRS International Secretary, and a member of the IACM Board of Directors <http://www.cannabis-med.org/index.php?tpl=page&id=74&lng=en>. He was the recipient of the 2002 Mechoulam Award “for his outstanding contributions to cannabinoid research”. He was also awarded the 2011 Wellcome Gold Medal by the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) “for outstanding contributions to pharmacology, based mainly on research achievements”, and the 2013 IACM Special Award “for his major contributions to the re-introduction of cannabis as a medicine”, and is an Honorary Fellow of the BPS: this fellowship is awarded to BPS members who have “demonstrated distinction and peer recognition in science, or have given long and valuable service to the Society”. In addition, he was identified by Thomson Reuters in 2005 to be a “Highly Cited Researcher” and hence among “the world's most cited and influential researchers”. He also received (1) a Highly Cited Researcher Award from Thomson Reuters in September 2014 “in recognition of ranking among the top 1% of researchers for most cited documents in their specific field” (see Pertwee in “Archives” at <http://hcr.stateofinnovation.thomsonreuters.com/page/archives> and from Clarivate Analytics in 2018 “in recognition of exceptional research performance demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers, those that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Pharmacology and Toxicology” and (2) the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society "for outstanding contributions to cannabinoid research and the ICRS".
Roger Pertwee presented evidence on cannabis in person at the House of Lords to the Science and Technology Committee which published its report on cannabis in 1998. He is the author of numerous review articles on the cannabinoids and is often invited to speak on the pharmacology of cannabinoids at international conferences. He is also interested in the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids. Indeed, he was a contributing author of the British Medical Association book entitled "Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis." and served on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society working party that recommended and helped to design clinical trials with cannabis and THC that were carried out in the UK and funded by the Medical Research Council. Together with Drs Rik Musty and Paul Consroe he also carried out the first large survey of multiple sclerosis patients who self-medicate with cannabis [Eur Neurol (1997) 38: 44]. His contributions to the "medicalization of cannabis" are summarized in a Witness Seminar Transcript (Vol 40), co-authored by Crowther, S.M., Reynolds, L.A. and Tansey, E.M. and published in 2010 by The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. This book is freely downloadable at <http://www.history.qmul.ac.uk/research/modbiomed/wellcome_witnesses/volume40/index.html>.
Roger Pertwee's research focuses on the pharmacology of cannabinoids. He began his work in this area in 1968 as a post-doc with Professor Sir William Paton at the Department of Pharmacology, Oxford University. He initially worked with cannabis and also with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol, both of which were extracted from tincture of cannabis, then still a legal medicine in the UK. This research led to the demonstration that cannabidiol is a highly effective inhibitor of hepatic microsomal enzymes and to the development of the "ring immobility test", still widely used as a behavioural bioassay.
After moving to Aberdeen in 1974, Roger Pertwee continued with his cannabinoid research, initially investigating the basis for the hypothermic effect of THC. This work provided evidence that THC lowers the thermoregulatory set point such that animals regulate their core temperature at a lower level than normal by adjusting heat gain and heat loss both autonomically and behaviourally. In other research carried out during this time he found that cannabinoids interact synergistically with benzodiazepines and also identified the globus pallidus as one of the sites at which cannabinoids alter motor function.
Opioid research with the mouse isolated vas deferens being carried out in Professor Hans Kosterlitz's laboratory in Aberdeen gave Roger Pertwee the opportunity to establish whether this tissue would also serve as a bioassay for cannabinoids. The mouse vas deferens turned out to be an extremely sensitive quantitative assay for CB1 agonists. He presented some of the initial vas deferens data at a cannabinoid meeting in Palm Beach in 1991 and this led to a collaboration with Professor Raphael Mechoulam who was also at the meeting. As a result, using the mouse vas deferens, Roger Pertwee (with Graeme Griffin) was able to provide the first evidence that anandamide not only binds to cannabinoid receptors (Dr William Devane's data) but also activates these receptors, greatly strengthening the argument that anandamide is an endogenous cannabinoid/endocannabinoid [Science (1992) 258:1946]. Other research in his laboratory, led by Dr Angela Coutts, was directed at mapping out the distribution of cannabinoid receptors in brain and gut using immunohistochemical techniques.
His research has also played major roles in
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the discovery that ethanolamides that are formed from dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and that seem to be endocannabinoids, have the capacity to inhibit cancer cell growth and proliferation;
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the discovery of a cannabinoid CB1 receptor allosteric site;
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the discovery that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabivarin is a plant cannabinoid (phytocannabinoid) - and that this compound is both a cannabinoid CB1 receptor blocker (antagonist) and a cannabinoid CB2 receptor activator (agonist) that has the potential to treat drug dependence, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, obesity and liver diseases, and to reduce health risks associated with liver transplantation;
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the pharmacological characterization of other phytocannabinoids, including cannabidiol, cannabidiolic acid & cannabigerol, and the further pharmacological characterization of THCV;
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the discovery/pharmacological characterization of novel synthetic cannabinoids many of which are widely used by cannabinoid researchers as experimental tools, e.g.
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methanandamide, the first CB1 receptor-selective agonist (with Dr Alexandros Makriyannis);
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two other CB1-selective agonists: ACEA & ACPA (with Dr Cecelia Hillard);
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HU-308, a CB2-selective agonist (with Dr Raphael Mechoulam);
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AM281, a widely-used CB1 receptor antagonist, and AM630, a widely-used CB2 receptor antagonist (with Dr Alexandros Makriyannis);
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CB1 receptor “neutral” antagonists;
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O-1057, the first water-soluble cannabinoid receptor ligand (with Drs Billy Martin and Raj Razdan);
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novel positive and negative allosteric modulators of the CB1 receptor (with Dr Ganesh Thakur).
Research now being carried out in Roger Pertwee's laboratory is directed (i) at seeking out further pharmacological actions of phytocannabinoids, (ii) at elucidating the pharmacological actions of other constituents of cannabis, and (iii) at exploring the actions and therapeutic potential of novel synthetic allosteric modulators of cannabinoid receptors. This research, which is being conducted mainly using radioligand binding assays and in vitro bioassays that measure drug effects on cannabinoid receptor signalling (e.g. [35S]GTPgammaS binding assays), is currently supported by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (part of NIH) and by GW Pharmaceuticals. He is also presently collaborating with colleagues at Aberdeen University in cannabinoid research funded by Diabetes UK and by Medical Research Scotland.
- Research
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Research Overview
Primary research interests:
· pharmacology and therapeutic potential of plant cannabinoids
· pharmacology of allosteric sites on cannabinoid receptors
· novel cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor ligands
· new pharmacological targets for cannabinoids
· roles of the endocannabinoid system in health and disease
Current Research
Roger Pertwee's current research is directed at seeking out pharmacological actions of phytocannabinoids, and at elucidating the pharmacological actions of other constituents of cannabis. In addition, he is currently following up a discovery made in his laboratory that there is at least one allosteric site on the cannabinoid CB1 receptor, by exploring the actions and therapeutic potential of novel synthetic allosteric modulators of cannabinoid receptors.
- Publications
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Page 5 of 6 Results 201 to 250 of 269
Action of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on GABA(A) receptor-mediated responses in a grease-gap recording preparation of the rat hippocampal slice
Neuropharmacology, vol. 36, no. 10, pp. 1387-1392Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0028-3908(97)00110-X
The perceived effects of smoked cannabis on patients with multiple sclerosis
European Journal of Neurology, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 44-48Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000112901
Agonist-antagonist characterization of 6'-cyanohex-2'-yne-Delta(8)-tetrahydrocannabinol in two isolated tissue preparations
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 315, no. 2, pp. 195-201Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2999(96)00631-0
Evidence for the presence of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in mouse urinary bladder
British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 118, no. 8, pp. 2053-2058Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFurther evidence for the presence of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in guinea-pig small intestine
British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 118, no. 8, pp. 2199-2205Contributions to Journals: ArticlesFurther evidence for the presence of cannabinoid CB1, receptors in mouse vas deferens
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 296, no. 2, pp. 169-172Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(95)00790-3
Pharmacological characterization of three novel cannabinoid receptor agonists in the mouse isolated vas deferens
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 284, no. 3, pp. 241-247Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(95)00318-F
EFFECT OF DELTA(9)-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL ON CIRCLING IN RATS INDUCED BY INTRANIGRAL MUSCIMOL ADMINISTRATION
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 282, no. 1-3, pp. 251-254Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(95)00346-M
PREVENTION BY THE CANNABINOID ANTAGONIST, SR141716A, OF CANNABINOID-MEDIATED BLOCKADE OF LONG-TERM POTENTIATION IN THE RAT HIPPOCAMPAL SLICE
British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 115, no. 6, pp. 869-870Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIDENTIFICATION OF AN ENDOGENOUS 2-MONOGLYCERIDE, PRESENT IN CANINE GUT, THAT BINDS TO CANNABINOID RECEPTORS
Biochemical Pharmacology, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 83-90Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-2952(95)00109-D
AM630, a competitive cannabinoid receptor antagonist
Life Sciences, vol. 56, no. 23-24, pp. 1949-1955Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(95)00175-6
The design, synthesis and testing of deoxy-CBD : further evidence for a region of steric interference at the cannabinoid receptor
Life Sciences, vol. 56, no. 23-24, pp. 2025-2032Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(95)00185-9
Cannabinoid Receptors
Academic Press, London, United Kingdom. 264 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksPharmacological, physiological and clinical implications of the discovery of cannabinoid receptors: an overview
Cannabinoid Receptors. Pertwee, R. G. (ed.). Academic Press, pp. 1-34Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersA preliminary investigation of the mechanisms underlying cannabinoid tolerance in the mouse vas deferens
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 272, no. 1, pp. 67-72Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(94)00617-G
Effect of phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride on the potency of anandamide as an inhibitor of electrically-evoked contractions in 2 isolated tissue preparations
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 272, no. 1, pp. 73-78Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(94)00618-H
Effects of two endogenous fatty acid ethanolamides on mouse vasa deferentia
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 259, no. 2, pp. 115-120Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(94)90499-5
(R)-Methanandamide : a chiral novel anandamide possessing higher potency and metabolic stability
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1889-1893Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jm00038a020
Cross-tolerance between delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and the cannabimimetic agents, CP-55, 940, WIN-55,212-2 and anandamide (vol 110, pg 1483, 1993)
British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 111, no. 3, pp. 968-968Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEffect of pretreatment with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the ability of certain cannabimimetic agents to induce hypothermia in mice
Temperature Regulation: Recent Physiological and Pharmacological Advances. Milton, A. (ed.). Birkhäuser, pp. 177-182Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCannabinoid receptors: pharmacology, second messenger systems and endogenous ligands
Problems of Drug Dependence, 1993: Proceeding of the 55th Annual Scientific Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Inc.. Harris, L. (ed.). National Institutes of Health (NIH), pp. 55-60Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersThe action of synthetic cannabinoids on the induction of long-term potentiation in the rat hippocampal slice
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 259, no. 3, pp. R7-R8Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates¿9-tetrahydrocannabinol and anandamide enhance the ability of muscimol to induce catalepsy in the globus pallidus of rats
European Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 250, no. 1, pp. 205-208Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2999(93)90646-Y
Isolation and structure of a brain constituent that binds to the cannabinoid receptor
Science, vol. 258, no. 5090, pp. 1946-1949Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIn vivo interactions between psychotropic cannabinoids and other drugs involving central and peripheral neurochemical mediators
Marijuana/Cannabinoids: Neurobiology and Neurophysiology. Murphy, L., Bartke, A. (eds.). CRC Press, pp. 165-218Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInhibitory effects of certain enantiomeric cannabinoids in the mouse vas-deferens and the myenteric plexus preparation of guinea-pig small-intestine
British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 980-984Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTolerance to and dependence on psychotropic cannabinoids
The Biological Bases of Drug Tolerance and Dependence. Pratt, J. (ed.). Academic Press, pp. 231-263Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersAn investigation of the involvement of GABA in certain pharmacological effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 581-585Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0091-3057(91)90366-A
Evidence that the hypothermic response of mice to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is not mediated by changes in thermogenesis in brown adipose-tissue
Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, vol. 69, no. 6, pp. 767-770Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEnhancement by chlordiazepoxide of catalepsy induced in rats by intravenous or intrapallidal injections of enantiomeric cannabinoids
Neuropharmacology, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 237-244Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3908(91)90150-A
Drugs which stimulate or facilitate central cholinergic transmission interact synergistically with delta-9-tetrahydrocannainol to produce marked catalepsy in mice
Neuropharmacology, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 67-71Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3908(91)90044-C
Behavioural thermoregulation in mice: effects of low-doses of general-anesthetics of different potency
Experimental Physiology, vol. 75, no. 5, pp. 629-637Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe central neuropharmacology of psychotropic cannabinoids
International Encyclopedia of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Section 130: Psychotropic Drugs of Abuse. Balfour, D. (ed.). Pergamon Press, pp. 355-429Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersHydrostatic pressure modifies behavioural thermoregulation in mice
High Pressure Neurological Syndrome - 20 years Later: 1st Meeting of the International Group on High Pressure Biology. Rostain, J., Martinez, E., Lemair, C. (eds.). ARAS-SNHP, pp. 261-273Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersBehavioral thermoregulation in mice subjected to high-pressure
Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 238-244Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDoes chlorpromazine enhance the hypothermic response to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol by blocking peripheral alpha-adrenoceptors?
Thermoregulation: Research and Clinical Applications. Lomax, P., Schönbaum, E. (eds.). Karger, pp. 197-199Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersDrugs which stimulate or facilitate central gabaergic transmission interact synergistically with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol to produce marked catalepsy in mice
Neuropharmacology, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 1265-1270Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3908(88)90029-9
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced catalepsy in mice is enhanced by pretreatment with flurazepam or chlorodiazepoxide
Neuropharmacology, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 485-491Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe hypothermic response of mice to delta-9-tetrahydrocannobinol is enhanced is enhanced by chlorpromazine, thioxanthenes, alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists and pentolinium but not by SCH-23390 or sulpiride
Neuropharmacology, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 149-155Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3908(88)90164-5
Synergistic interactions between delta-9-THC and flurazepam : further studies
Marijuana: An International Research Report. Chesher, G., Consroe, P., Musty, R. (eds.). Australian Government Publishing Service, pp. 365-370Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersEnhancement of the hypothermic response of mice to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol by subhypothermic doses of chloropromazine and phentolamine
Neuropharmacology, vol. 26, no. 2-3, pp. 229-235Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3908(87)90213-9
Effects of subanesthetic doses of inert-gases on behavioral thermoregulation in mice
Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 61, no. 5, pp. 1623-1633Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAn interaction between chlorpromazine and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Homeostasis and Thermal Stress: experimental and therapeutic advances: 6th International symposium on the pharmacology of thermoregulation : Papers. Cooper, K., Lomax, P., Schönbaum, E., Veale, W. (eds.). Karger, pp. 163-165Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersThe effect of subanaesthetic partial pressures of nitrous oxide and nitrogen on behavioural thermoregulation in mice
Homeostasis and Thermal Stress: experimental and therapeutic advances: 6th International symposium on the pharmacology of thermoregulation : Papers. Cooper, K., Lomax, P., Schönbaum, E., Veale, W. (eds.). Karger, pp. 19-21Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersEffects of cannabinoids on thermoregulation: a brief review
Marihuana '84: proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Cannabis. Harvey, D., Paton, S. W., Nahas, G. (eds.). IRL Press, pp. 263-277Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCannabis
Psychopharmacology 2: Part 1 Preclinical Psychopharmacology. Grahame-Smith, D., Cowen, P. (eds.). Elsevier, pp. 364-391Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCannabis
Psychopharmacology 1: Part 1 Preclinical Psychopharmacology. Grahame-Smith, D., Cowen, P. (eds.). Excerpta Medica, pp. 377-397Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersProstaglandin hyperthermia in mice: effects of ambient temperature
Environment, Drugs and Thermoregulation: 5th International Symposium on the Pharmacology of Thermoregulation. Lomax, P., Schönbaum, E. (eds.). Karger, pp. 150-152Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersThe effects of intrahypothalamic injections of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, dopamine and prostaglandin E2 on behavioural thermoregulation in mice
Environment, Drugs and Thermoregulation: 5th International Symposium on the Pharmacology of Thermoregulation. Lomax, P., Schonbaum, E. (eds.). Karger, pp. 82-85Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersTherapeutic agents affecting body temperature
Pyretics and Antipyretics: Handbook of experimental pharmacology ; vol 60. Milton, A., van Arman, C. (eds.). Springer Verlag, pp. 377-435Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters