title: Modulation of excitatory synaptic transmission by Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol switches from agonist to antagonist depending on firing rate.
abstract: Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, acts as a partial agonist on presynaptic cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors to inhibit neurotransmitter release. Here, we report that THC inhibits excitatory neurotransmission between cultured rat hippocampal neurons in a manner highly sensitive to stimulus rate. THC (1 microM) inhibited excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) and whole-cell I(Ca) evoked at 0.1 Hz but at 0.5 Hz THC had little effect. The cannabinoid receptor full agonists [(R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazinyl]-(1-naphthalenyl)methanone mesylate salt] (Win55212-2) (100 nM) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (1 microM) inhibited EPSCs independent of stimulation at 0.1 or 0.5 Hz. THC occupied CB1 receptors at 0.5 Hz, but the receptors failed to couple to presynaptic Ca(2+) channels. Consequently, 1 microM THC blocked the inhibition of EPSC amplitude by Win55212-2 when EPSCs were evoked at 0.5 Hz. A depolarizing prepulse to 0 mV reversed THC inhibition of I(Ca), but reversal of the inhibition produced by Win55212-2 required a pulse to +80 mV, suggesting that the voltage-dependent reversal of Gbetagamma inhibition of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels accounts for the frequency-dependence of cannabinoid action. THC blocked depolarization-induced suppression of EPSCs evoked at 0.5 Hz, indicating that it inhibited retrograde endocannabinoid signaling in a frequency-dependent manner. Thus, THC displayed a state-dependent switching from agonist to antagonist that may account for its complex actions in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Roloff
authors.forename: Stanley A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Thayer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000819:agonists* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; D013759:Dronabinol