An Endocannabinoid Signaling System Modulates Anxiety-like Behavior in Male Syrian Hamsters

Autor: Anna M. Moise, Giuseppe Astarita, Daniele Piomelli, Andrea G. Hohmann, Sarah A. Eisenstein
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
Zdroj: Moise, AM; Eisenstein, SA; Astarita, G; Piomelli, D; & Hohmann, AG. (2008). An endocannabinoid signaling system modulates anxiety-like behavior in male Syrian hamsters. Psychopharmacology, 200(3), 333-346. doi: 10.1007/s00213-008-1209-5. UC Irvine: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/44n526bj
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-008-1209-5.
Popis: Rationale: An endocannabinoid signaling system has not been identified in hamsters. Objective: We examined the existence of an endocannabinoid signaling system in Syrian hamsters using neuroanatomical, biochemical, and behavioral pharmacological approaches. Materials and methods: The distribution of cannabinoid receptors was mapped, and membrane fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity and levels of fatty-acid amides were measured in hamster brain. The impact of cannabinoid CB1receptor blockade and inhibition of FAAH was evaluated in the elevated plus maze, rota-rod test, and models of unconditioned and conditioned social defeat. Results: A characteristic heterogeneous distribution of cannabinoid receptors was detected in hamster brain using [3H]CP55,940 binding and autoradiography. The FAAH inhibitor URB597 inhibited FAAH activity (IC50=12.8 nM) and elevated levels of fatty-acid amides (N-palmitoyl ethanolamine and N-oleoyl ethanolamine) in hamster brain. Anandamide levels were not reliably altered. The cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 (1- 10 mg/kg i.p.) induced CB1-mediated motor ataxia. Blockade of CB1with rimonabant (5 mg/kg i.p.) induced anxiogenic-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. URB597 (0.1-0.3 mg/kg i.p.) induced CB1-mediated anxiolytic-like effects in the elevated plus maze, similar to the benzodiazepine diazepam (2 mg/kg i.p.). Diazepam (2-6 mg/kg i.p.) suppressed the expression, but not the acquisition, of conditioned defeat. By contrast, neither URB597 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg i.p.) nor rimonabant (5 mg/kg i.p.) altered unconditioned or conditioned social defeat or rota-rod performance. Conclusions: Endocannabinoids engage functional CB1receptors in hamster brain to suppress anxiety-like behavior and undergo enzymatic hydrolysis catalyzed by FAAH. Our results further suggest that neither unconditioned nor conditioned social defeat in the Syrian hamster is dependent upon cannabinoid CB1receptor activation. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.
Databáze: OpenAIRE