RESUMEN
Exploring the role of cannabinoid CB(2) receptors in the brain, we present evidence of CB(2) receptor molecular and functional interaction with cannabinoid CB(1) receptors. Using biophysical and biochemical approaches, we discovered that CB(2) receptors can form heteromers with CB(1) receptors in transfected neuronal cells and in rat brain pineal gland, nucleus accumbens, and globus pallidus. Within CB(1)-CB(2) receptor heteromers expressed in a neuronal cell model, agonist co-activation of CB(1) and CB(2) receptors resulted in a negative cross-talk in Akt phosphorylation and neurite outgrowth. Moreover, one specific characteristic of CB(1)-CB(2) receptor heteromers consists of both the ability of CB(1) receptor antagonists to block the effect of CB(2) receptor agonists and, conversely, the ability of CB(2) receptor antagonists to block the effect of CB(1) receptor agonists, showing a bidirectional cross-antagonism phenomenon. Taken together, these data illuminate the mechanism by which CB(2) receptors can negatively modulate CB(1) receptor function.
Asunto(s)
Globo Pálido/metabolismo , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/metabolismo , Núcleo Accumbens/metabolismo , Glándula Pineal/metabolismo , Multimerización de Proteína/fisiología , Receptor Cannabinoide CB1/metabolismo , Receptor Cannabinoide CB2/metabolismo , Animales , Línea Celular Tumoral , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Masculino , Proteínas del Tejido Nervioso/genética , Fosforilación/fisiología , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt/metabolismo , Ratas , Ratas Sprague-Dawley , Receptor Cannabinoide CB1/genética , Receptor Cannabinoide CB2/genéticaRESUMEN
The putative presence of the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB(2)-R) in the central nervous system is still a matter of debate. Although first described in peripheral and immune tissues, evidence suggesting the existence of CB(2)-Rs in glial cells and even neurons has been made available more recently. By taking advantage of newly designed CB(2)-R mRNA riboprobes, we have demonstrated by in situ hybridization and PCR the existence of CB2-R transcripts in a variety of brain areas of the primate Macaca fascicularis, including the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, as well as in the external and internal divisions of the globus pallidus, both pallidal segments showing the highest abundance of CB(2)-R transcripts. In this regard, the presence of the messenger coding CB(2)-Rs within the pallidal complex highlights their consideration as potential targets for the treatment of movement disorders of basal ganglia origin.