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The psychoactive plant cannabinoid, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is antagonized by Delta8- and Delta9-tetrahydrocannabivarin in mice in vivo.

R G Pertwee, A Thomas, L A Stevenson, R A Ross, Stephen A Varvel, Aron H Lichtman, B R Martin, R K Razdan

British Journal of Pharmacology March 2007 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0707124 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Preclinical in vitro and in vivo pharmacology study Peer reviewed
Population Mouse brain membranes, mouse isolated vasa deferentia, and live mice
Interventions eDelta(9)-THCV CP55940 R-(+)-WIN55212 Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol
Dose O-4394 and O-4395 at i.v. doses of 0.1, 0.3, 1.0 and/or 3 mg kg(-1); Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol at 3 or 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.); O-4395 and O-4394 induced effects at 3 or 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.) and antinociception above 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.); O-4395 induced hypothermia at 3 mg kg(-1) (i.v.) and above
Measures tail-flick test, rectal temperature, ring immobility, [(3)H]-CP55940 binding, [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding assay
Topics Cannabis
Key points O-4394 and O-4395 bind CB(1) receptors with potencies similar to cannabis-derived Delta(9)-THCV and can antagonize Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in vivo, attenuating THC-induced antinociception and hypothermia; O-4395 also antagonized THC-induced ring immobility. At higher doses the compounds produced cannabinoid-like effects themselves.

Abstract

To follow up in vitro evidence that Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabivarin extracted from cannabis (eDelta(9)-THCV) is a CB(1) receptor antagonist by establishing whether synthetic Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabivarin (O-4394) and Delta(8)-tetrahydrocannabivarin (O-4395) behave as CB(1) antagonists in vivo. O-4394 and O-4395 were compared with eDelta(9)-THCV as displacers of [(3)H]-CP55940 from specific CB(1) binding sites on mouse brain membranes and as antagonists of CP55940 in [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding assays performed with mouse brain membranes and of R-(+)-WIN55212 in mouse isolated vasa deferentia. Their ability to antagonize in vivo effects of 3 or 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.) Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in mice was then investigated. O-4394 and O-4395 exhibited similar potencies to eDelta(9)-THCV as displacers of [(3)H]-CP55940 (K (i)=46.6 and 64.4 nM, respectively) and as antagonists of CP55940 in the [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding assay (apparent K (B)=82.1 and 125.9 nM, respectively) and R-(+)-WIN55212 in the vas deferens (apparent K (B)=4.8 and 3.9 nM respectively). At i.v. doses of 0.1, 0.3, 1.0 and/or 3 mg kg(-1) O-4394 and O-4395 attenuated Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced anti-nociception (tail-flick test) and hypothermia (rectal temperature). O-4395 but not O-4394 also antagonized Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced ring immobility. By themselves, O-4395 and O-4394 induced ring immobility at 3 or 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.) and antinociception at doses above 10 mg kg(-1) (i.v.). O-4395 also induced hypothermia at 3 mg kg(-1) (i.v.) and above. O-4394 and O-4395 exhibit similar in vitro potencies to eDelta(9)-THCV as CB(1) receptor ligands and as antagonists of cannabinoid receptor agonists and can antagonize Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in vivo.

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Cognitive Impairment Induced by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol Occurs through Heteromers between Cannabinoid CB1 and Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptors Mice 2015 Preclinical study
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Long-term hippocampal interneuronopathy drives sex-dimorphic spatial memory impairment induced by prenatal THC exposure Mice prenatally exposed to THC, including conditional CB1R knockout mice 2020 Animal experimental study
Chronic cannabis promotes pro-hallucinogenic signaling of 5-HT2A receptors through Akt/mTOR pathway Mice exposed to chronic THC early in life 2018 Animal experimental study
Effects of cannabinoid drugs on the deficit of prepulse inhibition of startle in an animal model of schizophrenia: the SHR strain Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar rats 2014 Animal experimental study

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