HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Anandamide suppresses pain initiation through a peripheral endocannabinoid mechanism.

Abstract
Peripheral cannabinoid receptors exert a powerful inhibitory control over pain initiation, but the endocannabinoid signal that normally engages this intrinsic analgesic mechanism is unknown. To address this question, we developed a peripherally restricted inhibitor (URB937) of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the enzyme responsible for the degradation of the endocannabinoid anandamide. URB937 suppressed FAAH activity and increased anandamide levels outside the rodent CNS. Despite its inability to access brain and spinal cord, URB937 attenuated behavioral responses indicative of persistent pain in rodent models of peripheral nerve injury and inflammation and prevented noxious stimulus-evoked neuronal activation in spinal cord regions implicated in nociceptive processing. CB₁ cannabinoid receptor blockade prevented these effects. These results suggest that anandamide-mediated signaling at peripheral CB₁ receptors controls the access of pain-related inputs to the CNS. Brain-impenetrant FAAH inhibitors, which strengthen this gating mechanism, might offer a new approach to pain therapy.
AuthorsJason R Clapper, Guillermo Moreno-Sanz, Roberto Russo, Ana Guijarro, Federica Vacondio, Andrea Duranti, Andrea Tontini, Silvano Sanchini, Natale R Sciolino, Jessica M Spradley, Andrea G Hohmann, Antonio Calignano, Marco Mor, Giorgio Tarzia, Daniele Piomelli
JournalNature neuroscience (Nat Neurosci) Vol. 13 Issue 10 Pg. 1265-70 (Oct 2010) ISSN: 1546-1726 [Electronic] United States
PMID20852626 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • Arachidonic Acids
  • Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators
  • Cannabinoids
  • Endocannabinoids
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Ethylene Glycols
  • Indoles
  • Oncogene Proteins v-fos
  • PPAR alpha
  • Piperidines
  • Polyunsaturated Alkamides
  • Pyrazoles
  • URB937
  • arachidonoylethylene glycol
  • MK-886
  • Tritium
  • Formaldehyde
  • Carrageenan
  • Monoacylglycerol Lipases
  • Amidohydrolases
  • fatty-acid amide hydrolase
  • Rimonabant
  • iodopravadoline
  • anandamide
Topics
  • Amidohydrolases (deficiency, metabolism)
  • Animals
  • Arachidonic Acids (metabolism, therapeutic use)
  • Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators (antagonists & inhibitors, metabolism, therapeutic use)
  • Cannabinoids (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
  • Carrageenan
  • Chromatography, Liquid (methods)
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drug Administration Routes
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Endocannabinoids
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Escape Reaction (drug effects)
  • Ethylene Glycols (metabolism)
  • Feeding Behavior (drug effects)
  • Formaldehyde
  • Gene Expression Regulation (drug effects, genetics)
  • Hyperalgesia (drug therapy, genetics)
  • Indoles (therapeutic use)
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry (methods)
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Monoacylglycerol Lipases (metabolism)
  • Motor Activity (drug effects)
  • Oncogene Proteins v-fos (metabolism)
  • PPAR alpha (deficiency)
  • Pain (chemically induced, genetics, pathology, prevention & control)
  • Pain Measurement (drug effects)
  • Pain Threshold (drug effects)
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
  • Piperidines (therapeutic use)
  • Polyunsaturated Alkamides (metabolism, therapeutic use)
  • Pyrazoles (therapeutic use)
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rimonabant
  • Sciatica (drug therapy)
  • Spinal Cord (metabolism)
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Time Factors
  • Tissue Distribution (drug effects)
  • Tritium

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: