3-(2-hydroxy-4-(1-1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl)-4-(3-hydroxypropyl)cyclohexanol and spiradoline

Pain is a significant clinical problem, and there is a need for more effective treatments with reduced adverse effects that currently limit the use of μ opioid receptor agonists. Synthetic κ opioid receptor agonists have no abuse liability and well-documented antinociceptive effects; however, adverse effects (diuresis, dysphoria) preclude their use in the clinic. Combining κ opioids with nonopioid drugs (cannabinoid receptor agonists) allows for smaller doses of each drug to produce antinociception. This study tested whether a potentially useful effect of the κ opioid receptor agonist 2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-[(5R,7S,8S)-7-pyrrolidin-1-yl-1-oxaspiro[4.5]decan-8-yl] (spiradoline; antinociception) is selectively enhanced by the cannabinoid receptor agonist 2-[(1R,2R,5R)-5-hydroxy-2-(3-hydroxypropyl) cyclohexyl]-5-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)phenol (CP55940). Cumulative dose-response functions were determined in eight male Sprague-Dawley rats for spiradoline (0.032-32.0 mg/kg, i.p.) and CP55940 (0.0032-1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) for antinociception, hypothermia, food-maintained responding, and diuresis. Alone, each drug dose dependently increased tail withdrawal latencies from 50°C water, decreased body temperature by ∼4°C, and eliminated food-maintained responding. Spiradoline, but not CP55940, significantly increased urine output at doses that eliminated responding. Smaller doses of spiradoline and CP55940 in mixtures (3:1, 1:1, and 1:3 spiradoline:CP55940) had effects comparable to those observed with larger doses of either drug administered alone: the interaction was additive for antinociception and additive or greater than additive for hypothermia and food-maintained responding. Collectively, these data fail to provide support for the use of these mixtures for treating acute pain; however, κ opioid/cannabinoid mixtures might be useful for treating pain under other conditions (e.g., chronic pain), but only if the adverse effects of both drugs are not enhanced in mixtures.

Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; Cyclohexanols; Drug Synergism; Male; Pyrrolidines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Cannabinoid; Receptors, Opioid, kappa

Pain is a significant clinical problem, and there is a need for pharmacotherapies that are more effective with fewer adverse effects than currently available medications. Cannabinoid receptor agonists enhance the antinociceptive effects of μ-opioid receptor agonists; it is unclear whether they impact the effects of agonists acting at other opioid receptors. κ-Opioid receptor agonists have antinociceptive effects, but their clinical use is precluded by adverse effects; however, their therapeutic potential might be realized if antinociceptive effects could be selectively enhanced. In this study, the antinociceptive effects of the cannabinoid receptor agonist CP55940 and the κ-opioid receptor agonist spiradoline, alone and in combination, were studied in rats (n=7) using a warm water tail-withdrawal procedure. When administered alone, CP55940 (0.032-1.0 mg/kg) and spiradoline (1.0-32.0 mg/kg) increased tail-withdrawal latency, and mixtures of CP55940 and spiradoline (ratios of 1 : 3, 1 : 1, and 3 : 1) produced additive effects. It remains to be determined whether this additive interaction between a κ-opioid receptor agonist and a cannabinoid receptor agonist is selective for antinociception and whether it can be generalized to other drugs.

Topics: Analgesics; Animals; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; Cyclohexanols; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Therapy, Combination; Hot Temperature; Male; Nociceptive Pain; Pain Threshold; Pyrrolidines; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Opioid, kappa

Drugs targeting brain kappa-opioid receptors produce profound alterations in mood. In the present study we investigated the possible anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of Salvia divinorum, in rats and mice.. Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats or male Albino Swiss mice. The anxiolytic-like effects were tested by using the elevated plus maze, in rats. The antidepressant-like effect was estimated through the forced swim (rats) and the tail suspension (mice) test. kappa-Opioid receptor involvement was investigated pretreating animals with the kappa-opioid receptor antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine (1 or 10 mgxkg(-1)), while direct or indirect activity at CB(1) cannabinoid receptors was evaluated with the CB(1) cannabinoid receptor antagonist, N-(piperidin-1-yl) -5-(4-iodophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide (AM251, 0.5 or 3 mgxkg(-1)), binding to striatal membranes of naïve rats and assay of fatty acid amide hydrolase in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala.. Salvinorin A, given s.c. (0.001-1000 microgxkg(-1)), exhibited both anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects that were prevented by nor-binaltorphimine or AM251 (0.5 or 3 mgxkg(-1)). Salvinorin A reduced fatty acid amide hydrolase activity in amygdala but had very weak affinity for cannabinoid CB(1) receptors.. The anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of Salvinorin A are mediated by both kappa-opioid and endocannabinoid systems and may partly explain the subjective symptoms reported by recreational users of S. divinorum.

Topics: Amidohydrolases; Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Antidepressive Agents; Behavior, Animal; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Cyclohexanols; Diterpenes, Clerodane; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Emotions; Injections, Subcutaneous; Male; Mice; Models, Animal; Motor Activity; Naltrexone; Narcotic Antagonists; Piperidines; Pyrazoles; Pyrrolidines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; Receptors, Opioid, kappa; Salvia; Swimming