Upregulation of cannabinoid type 1 receptors in dopamine D2 receptor knockout mice is reversed by chronic forced ethanol consumption.
BACKGROUND
The anatomical proximity of the cannabinoid type 1 (CNR1/CB1R) and the dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2), their ability to form CB1R-DRD2 heteromers, their opposing roles in locomotion, and their involvement in ethanol's reinforcing and addictive properties prompted us to study the levels and distribution of CB1R after chronic ethanol intake, in the presence and absence of DRD2.


METHODS
We monitored the drinking patterns and locomotor activity of Drd2+/+ and Drd2-/- mice consuming either water or a 20% (v/v) ethanol solution (forced ethanol intake) for 6 months and used the selective CB1 receptor antagonist [³H]SR141716A to quantify CB1R levels in different brain regions with in vitro receptor autoradiography.


RESULTS
We found that the lack of DRD2 leads to a marked upregulation (approximately 2-fold increase) of CB1R in the cerebral cortex, the caudate-putamen, and the nucleus accumbens, which was reversed by chronic ethanol intake.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that DRD2-mediated dopaminergic neurotransmission and chronic ethanol intake exert an inhibitory effect on cannabinoid receptor expression in cortical and striatal regions implicated in the reinforcing and addictive properties of ethanol.
Department of Health and Human Services, Laboratory of Neuroimaging, NIAAA, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. thanos@bnl.gov
Panayotis K
PK
Thanos
Vanessa
V
Gopez
Foteini
F
Delis
Michael
M
Michaelides
David K
DK
Grandy
Gene-Jack
GJ
Wang
George
G
Kunos
Nora D
ND
Volkow
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000378:metabolism; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000077285:Rimonabant; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D013997:Time Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D010880:Piperidines; D011720:Pyrazoles; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D000431:Ethanol; D000077285:Rimonabant; D004298:Dopamine