15-hydroxy-11-alpha-9-alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5-13-dienoic-acid and anandamide

Endocannabinoids contract, relax or do not affect vessels with different calibre and tone in the pulmonary circulation in four species. The aim of the present study was to determine the mechanisms involved in the anandamide-induced relaxation of human pulmonary arteries (hPAs). Studies were performed in the isolated hPAs pre-constricted with the prostanoid TP receptor agonist, U-46619. To detect fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) expression, Western blots were used. Anandamide concentration dependently relaxed the endothelium-intact hPAs pre-constricted with U-46619. The anandamide-induced relaxation was virtually abolished by removal of the endothelium and strongly attenuated by inhibitors of cyclooxygenases (indomethacin, COX-1/COX-2, and nimesulide, COX-2), nitric oxide synthase (N (G) -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) given separately or in combination, FAAH (URB597), and the prostanoid IP receptor antagonist, RO1138452. The anandamide-evoked relaxation in the endothelium-intact vessels was attenuated in KCl pre-constricted preparations or by the inhibitor of large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels, iberiotoxin. In experiments performed in the presence of URB597 to exclude effects of anandamide metabolites, the antagonist of the endothelial cannabinoid receptor, O-1918, diminished the anandamide-evoked relaxation whereas the antagonists of cannabinoid CB1, CB2 and vanilloid TRPV1 receptors, AM251, SR144528 and capsazepine, respectively, had no effect. Western blot studies revealed the occurrence of FAAH protein in the hPAs. The present study shows that anandamide breakdown products, cyclooxygenase pathways, nitric oxide, potassium channels and the O-1918-sensitive cannabinoid receptor play a role in the anandamide-induced relaxation of the hPAs with intact endothelium.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Aged; Amidohydrolases; Arachidonic Acids; Endocannabinoids; Endothelium, Vascular; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitric Oxide; Peptides; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Pulmonary Artery; Serotonin; Vasodilation

The endocannabinoid system has previously been implicated in the regulation of neurons and inflammatory cells. Additionally, it has been reported that endocannabinoid receptors are present on circulating platelets, but there has been conflicting evidence on their contribution to platelet function.. Our aim was to examine the role of endocannabinoids in platelet function in vitro and in vivo.. We studied the effects of the well-characterized endogenous endocannabinoid anandamide on platelet aggregation in suspension, α-granule release, calcium mobilization, Syk phosphorylation, as well as platelet spreading and aggregate formation under flow. Anandamide inhibits platelet aggregation and α-granule release by collagen, collagen-derived peptide CRP-XL, ADP, arachidonic acid and thromboxane A2 analogue U46619. However, activation via thrombin receptor PAR-1 stays largely unaffected. Calcium mobilization is significantly impaired when platelets are stimulated with collagen or CRP-XL, but remains normal in the presence of the other agonists. In line with this finding, we found that anandamide prevents collagen-induced Syk phosphorylation. Furthermore, anandamide-treated platelets exhibit reduced spreading on immobilized fibrinogen, have a decreased capacity for binding fibrinogen in solution and show perturbed platelet aggregate formation under flow over collagen. Finally, we investigated the influence of Cannabis sativa consumption by human volunteers on platelet activation. Similar to our in vitro findings with anandamide, ex vivo collagen-induced platelet aggregation and aggregate formation on immobilized collagen under flow were impaired in whole blood of donors that had consumed Cannabis sativa.. Endocannabinoid receptor agonists reduce platelet activation and aggregate formation both in vitro and ex vivo after Cannabis sativa consumption. Further elucidation of this novel regulatory mechanism for platelet function may prove beneficial in the search for new antithrombotic therapies.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Arachidonic Acids; Blood Platelets; Calcium; Cannabis; Collagen; Dronabinol; Endocannabinoids; Fibrinogen; Humans; Integrin beta3; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Phosphorylation; Platelet Activation; Platelet Aggregation; Platelet Membrane Glycoprotein IIb; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2; Receptor, PAR-1; Signal Transduction; Syk Kinase; Thrombosis

Endocannabinoids exhibit vasodilatory properties and reduce blood pressure in vivo. However, the influence and mechanism of action of the prominent endocannabinoid, anandamide (AEA), in pulmonary arteries are not known. The present study determined the vascular response to AEA in isolated rat pulmonary arteries. AEA relaxed rat pulmonary arteries that were pre-constricted with U-46619. This relaxation was reduced by the following conditions:removal of the endothelium; in KCl pre-constricted preparations; in the presence of the potassium channel (K(Ca)) blockers, tetraethylammonium and the combination of charybdotoxin and apamin, and the prostacyclin receptor antagonist, RO1138452. Inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (indomethacin), nitric oxide (NO) synthase (N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (URB597) alone or in combination diminished AEA-induced relaxation in endothelium-intact vessels. The remaining experiments were performed in the presence of URB597 to eliminate the influence of AEA metabolites. Antagonists of the endothelial cannabinoid receptor (CB(x)), O-1918 and cannabidiol, attenuated the AEA-induced response. Antagonists of CB(1), CB(2) and TRPV1 receptors, AM251, AM630 and capsazepine, respectively, did not modify the AEA-induced response. A reference activator of CB(x) receptors, abnormal cannabidiol, mimicked the receptor-mediated AEA effects. The present study demonstrated that AEA relaxed rat pulmonary arteries in an endothelium-dependent fashion via the activation of the O-1918-sensitive CB(x) receptor and/or prostacyclin-like vasoactive products of AEA. One or both of these mechanisms may involve K(Ca) or the NO pathway.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Amidohydrolases; Animals; Anisoles; Apamin; Arachidonic Acids; Benzamides; Benzyl Compounds; Cannabinoid Receptor Antagonists; Capsaicin; Carbamates; Charybdotoxin; Cyclohexanes; Endocannabinoids; Endothelium, Vascular; Imidazoles; Indoles; Indomethacin; Male; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Piperidines; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Potassium Channel Blockers; Potassium Chloride; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Pulmonary Artery; Pyrazoles; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Cannabinoid; Receptors, Epoprostenol; Tetraethylammonium; TRPV Cation Channels; Vasodilation

Noradrenaline and ATP are sympathetic co-transmitters. In the rat perfused mesenteric bed cannabinoids have been shown to modify the overall response to sympathetic nerve stimulation. This study has assessed whether cannabinoid receptor activation modulates differentially the noradrenergic and purinergic components of sympathetic vasoconstriction.. Rat mesenteric beds were perfused with physiological salt solution and the effects of cannabinoids on responses to nerve stimulation, or exogenous noradrenaline or alpha,beta-methylene ATP (alpha,beta-meATP; P2X receptor agonist) were determined after raising tone with U46619. The effects of cannabinoids on the noradrenaline and ATP components of sympathetic neurotransmission were assessed using the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, prazosin, or after P2X receptor desensitization with alpha,beta-meATP.. Anandamide, WIN 55,212-2 and CP55,940 attenuated sympathetic neurogenic vasoconstrictor responses. The inhibitory actions of anandamide and WIN 55,212-2 were blocked by LY320135, a CB1 receptor antagonist, but not by SR144528, a CB2 receptor antagonist. The inhibitory actions of CP55,940 were unaffected by LY320135 and SR144528. WIN 55,212-3, the inactive S(-) enantiomer of WIN 55,212-2, had no effect on sympathetic neurogenic responses. None of the cannabinoids affected contractile responses to exogenous noradrenaline or alpha,beta-meATP. Anandamide and WIN 55,212-2 inhibited both the noradrenaline and ATP components of the sympathetic neurogenic contractile responses, with effects on the ATP component being most marked.. These results indicate that prejunctional CB1-like receptors mediate the sympathoinhibitory action of anandamide and WIN 55,212-2, but not CP55,940, in the rat mesenteric bed. Cannabinoids inhibit both the noradrenergic and purinergic components of sympathetic neurotransmission.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Adenosine Triphosphate; Adrenergic Fibers; Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Benzofurans; Benzoxazines; Camphanes; Cannabinoids; Cyclohexanols; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electric Stimulation; Endocannabinoids; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Morpholines; Muscle Tonus; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Naphthalenes; Norepinephrine; Perfusion; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Prazosin; Pyrazoles; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2; Receptors, Purinergic P2

1. The effects of the endocannabinoid, anandamide, and its metabolically stable analogue, methanandamide, on induced tone were examined in sheep coronary artery rings in vitro. 2. In endothelium-intact rings precontracted to the thromboxane A(2) mimetic, U46619, anandamide (0.01 - 30 microM) induced slowly developing concentration-dependent relaxations (pEC(50) [negative log of EC(50)]=6.1+/-0.1; R(max) [maximum response]=81+/-4%). Endothelium denudation caused a 10 fold rightward shift of the anandamide concentration-relaxation curve without modifying R(max). Methanandamide was without effect on U46619-induced tone. 3. The anandamide-induced relaxation was unaffected by the cannabinoid receptor antagonist, SR 141716A (3 microM), the vanilloid receptor antagonist, capsazepine (3 and 10 microM) or the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-NAME (100 microM). 4. The cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin (3 and 10 microM) and the anandamide amidohydrolase inhibitor, PMSF (70 and 200 microM), markedly attenuated the anandamide response. The anandamide transport inhibitor, AM 404 (10 and 30 microM), shifted the anandamide concentration-response curve to the right. 5. Precontraction of endothelium-intact rings with 25 mM KCl attenuated the anandamide-induced relaxations (R(max)=7+/-7%), as did K(+) channel blockade with tetraethylammonium (TEA; 3 microM) or iberiotoxin (100 nM). Blockade of small conductance, Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels, delayed rectifier K(+) channels, K(ATP) channels or inward rectifier K(+) channels was without effect. 6. These data suggest that the relaxant effects of anandamide in sheep coronary arteries are mediated in part via the endothelium and result from the cellular uptake and conversion of anandamide to a vasodilatory prostanoid. This, in turn, causes vasorelaxation, in part, by opening potassium channels.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; 4-Aminopyridine; Animals; Apamin; Arachidonic Acid; Arachidonic Acids; Barium; Calcium Channel Blockers; Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; Cannabinoids; Capsaicin; Coronary Vessels; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endocannabinoids; Endothelium, Vascular; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; Glyburide; In Vitro Techniques; Indomethacin; Miconazole; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitric Oxide Synthase; Peptides; Phenylmethylsulfonyl Fluoride; Piperidines; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Potassium; Potassium Channel Blockers; Potassium Channels; Pyrazoles; Receptors, Drug; Rimonabant; Sheep; Tetraethylammonium; Vasoconstrictor Agents; Vasodilation

1. Cumulative concentration-effect curves for the selective prostanoid TP receptor agonist U46619 and six isoprostanes were constructed in the human isolated umbilical artery. 2. All compounds except 8-iso-PGF3 alpha produced concentration-dependent contractions. The contractile response to the isoprostanes increased with each cumulative addition up to a point, after which subsequent addition reduced the contraction below the previous level. This 'downturn' in the concentration-effect curve did not occur with U46619. 3. The potencies of the compounds tested were as follows (pEC50 +/- s.e.mean): U46619, 6.7 +/- 0.2; 8-iso-PGE2, 6.5 +/- 0.1; 8-iso-PGF2 alpha, 5.8 +/- 0.2; 8-iso-PGE1, 5.4 +/- 0.1; 8-iso-PGF1 alpha, 5.0 +/- 0.1; 8-iso-PGF2 beta > 4.8; 8-iso-PGF3 alpha >> 4.8 (n = 4-17). Neither 8-iso-PGF2 beta nor 8-iso-PGF3 alpha at 44 microM had a significant effect on cumulative concentration-effect curves to U46619. 4. The selective TP receptor antagonist GR32191 (0.1 microM) caused rightward shifts in the concentration-effect curves to all the active compounds. pA2 values for GR32191 against U46619, 8-iso-PGE2, 8-iso-PGF2 alpha, 8-iso-PGE1 were 7.6 +/- 0.2, 9 +/- 1, 8.2 +/- 0.3 and 7.7 +/- 0.3, respectively (n = 4). 5. Neither N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 microM) nor the selective DP receptor antagonist BW A868C (50 nM) affected the complex concentration-effect curve to 8-iso-PGE2 (n = 3). 6. Stable contractions to U46619 (1-3 microM) were unaffected by anandamide at concentrations up to 60 microM.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Arachidonic Acids; Dinoprostone; Endocannabinoids; Enzyme Inhibitors; Female; Humans; Hydantoins; In Vitro Techniques; Isometric Contraction; Isoprostanes; Muscle Contraction; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Pregnancy; Prostaglandins F; Prostaglandins, Synthetic; Receptors, Prostaglandin; Structure-Activity Relationship; Umbilical Arteries

It has been reported that the endogenous cannabinoid N-arachidonylethanolamide (AEA), commonly referred to as anandamide, has the characteristics of an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in rat mesenteric artery. We have carried out studies to determine whether AEA affects coronary vascular tone. The vasorelaxant effects of AEA were determined in isolated bovine coronary artery rings precontracted with U-46619 (3 x 10(-9) M). AEA decreased isometric tension, producing a maximal relaxation of 51 +/- 9% at a concentration of 10(-5) M. Endothelium-denuded coronary arteries were not significantly affected by AEA. The CB1 receptor antagonist SR-141716A (10(-6)M) failed to reduce the vasodilatory effects of AEA, suggesting that the CB1 receptor is not involved in this action of AEA. Because AEA is rapidly converted to arachidonic acid and ethanolamine in brain and liver by a fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), we hypothesized that the vasodilatory effect of AEA results from its hydrolysis to arachidonic acid followed by enzymatic conversion to vasodilatory eicosanoids. In support of this hypothesis, bovine coronary arteries incubated with [3H]AEA for 30 min hydrolyzed 15% of added substrate; approximately 9% of the radiolabeled product was free arachidonic acid, and 6% comigrated with the prostaglandins (PGs) and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). A similar result was obtained in cultured bovine coronary endothelial cells. Inhibition of the FAAH with diazomethylarachidonyl ketone blocked both the metabolism of [3H]AEA and the relaxations to AEA. Whole vessel and cultured endothelial cells prelabeled with [3H]arachidonic acid synthesized [3H]PGs and [3H]EETs, but not [3H]AEA, in response to A-23187. Furthermore, SR-141716A attenuated A-23187-stimulated release of [3H]arachidonic acid, suggesting that it may have actions other than inhibition of CB1 receptor. These experiments suggest that AEA produces endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation as a result of its catabolism to arachidonic acid followed by conversion to vasodilatory eicosanoids such as prostacyclin or the EETs.

Topics: 15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5,13-dienoic Acid; Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Biotransformation; Cannabinoids; Cattle; Cells, Cultured; Coronary Vessels; Endocannabinoids; Endothelium, Vascular; Ethanolamines; In Vitro Techniques; Isometric Contraction; Muscle Relaxation; Muscle Tonus; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular; Piperidines; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Pyrazoles; Rats; Receptors, Cannabinoid; Receptors, Drug; Rimonabant; Vasodilation