title: Anandamide decreases naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs in mice chronically treated with morphine.
abstract: The effect of anandamide, a putative endogenous ligand of the cannabinoid receptor, has been studied in a naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal syndrome in mice. Animals were chronically treated with increasing doses of morphine (from 8 to 45 mg/kg) over 5 days or implanted with morphine pellets (72 hr). Typical signs of withdrawal (jumping and body weight loss) were examined after naloxone administration (1 mg/kg). In these conditions, anandamide (5 mg/kg, i.v.) decreased both the number of jumps, measured over 30 min (81.2% +/- 3.15 and 92.2% +/- 3.5 decrease in chronically administered morphine and pellet implanted mice, respectively), and the body weight loss at 30 and 60 min (30 min: 2.6% +/- 0.4 vs 4.4% +/- 0.2 and 3.7% +/- 0.4 vs 5.3% +/- 0.4; 60 min: 3.2% +/- 0.5 vs 5.0% +/- 0.4 and 4.1% +/- 0.5 vs 6.0% +/- 0.5 in chronically treated morphine and pellet implanted mice respectively) after naloxone administration. This suggests, as shown in the case of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, a modulation by anandamide of pathways involved in the expression of physical signs of opioid dependence and support its role as an endogenous cannabinoid agonist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Universidad Complutense, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vela
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Gayo
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fuentes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000494:pharmacology; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; D063388:Endocannabinoids; D053284:Polyunsaturated Alkamides; D009270:Naloxone; D009020:Morphine; D013759:Dronabinol; C078814:anandamide