urb602 and palmidrol

The intrathecal (i.t.) injection of 50 and 100 nmol anandamide to urethane anesthetized rats induced a dose-dependent decrease in the mean blood pressure (-10.6+/-1.6 mmHg and -15.0+/-1.7 mmHg, respectively; n=6) whereas a lower dose of this endocannabinoid (25 nmol) was devoid of effect. Similar responses were obtained both with the non-metabolizable analog methanandamide and with the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoyldopamine. When the sub-effective dose (25 nmol) of each compound was co-injected with palmitoylethanolamide (100 nmol), significant decreases in the blood pressure were observed (-12.3+1.3 mmHg for anandamide; -12.1+/-0.8 mmHg for methanandamide; -12.1+/-0.8 mmHg for N-arachidonoyldopamine; n=4-6). Palmitoylethanolamide also enhanced the hypotensive responses to the 50 nmol-dose of both anandamide and methanandamide. The hypotensive response induced by co-administration of palmitoylethanolamide and 25 nmol anandamide was prevented both by the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist SR 144716A (20 nmol; i.t.) and by the vanilloid TRPV1 receptor antagonist capsazepine (20 nmol; i.t.) and enhanced by pretreatment with URB602 (3.5 nmol; i.t.), a putative inhibitor of palmitoylethanolamide degradation. These results suggest that in the spinal cord palmitoylethanolamide acts as an entourage compound for the hypotensive effects of i.t. administered endocannabinoids. The facilitative action of palmitoylethanolamide affects the vanilloid TRPV1 as well as the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor-mediated effects of endocannabinoids on the blood pressure control.

Topics: Amides; Animals; Antihypertensive Agents; Biphenyl Compounds; Blood Pressure; Cannabinoid Receptor Antagonists; Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; Capsaicin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Synergism; Endocannabinoids; Ethanolamines; Heart Rate; Injections, Spinal; Male; Palmitic Acids; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; TRPV Cation Channels

Microglial cell activation and migration play an important role in neuroinflammation propagation. While it is known that the lipid transmitter palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) regulates microglial migration by interacting with a cannabinoid-like receptor, the production and inactivation of this lipid by microglia has never been addressed directly. Here we show that the mouse microglial cell line BV-2 produces and hydrolyzes PEA. The carbamate compound URB602 inhibits PEA hydrolysis in BV-2 cell homogenates and increases PEA levels in intact cells, whereas the FAAH inhibitor URB597 and serine-hydrolase inhibitor MAFP do not affect PEA levels in intact cells. This unique pharmacological profile of inhibitors on PEA hydrolysis suggests the involvement of a previously undescribed enzyme that degrades PEA. This enzyme expressed by microglia constitutes a promising target for controlling the propagation of neuroinflammation.

Topics: Amides; Amidohydrolases; Animals; Biphenyl Compounds; Cell Line, Transformed; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endocannabinoids; Enzyme Inhibitors; Ethanolamines; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hydrolysis; Mice; Microglia; Palmitic Acids; Time Factors

The N-aryl carbamate URB602 (biphenyl-3-ylcarbamic acid cyclohexyl ester) is an inhibitor of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), a serine hydrolase involved in the biological deactivation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (2-AG). Here, we investigated the mechanism by which URB602 inhibits purified recombinant rat MGL by using a combination of biochemical and structure-activity relationship (SAR) approaches. We found that URB602 weakly inhibits recombinant MGL (IC(50) = 223 +/- 63 microM) through a rapid and noncompetitive mechanism. Dialysis experiments and SAR analyses suggest that URB602 acts through a partially reversible mechanism rather than by irreversible carbamoylation of MGL. Finally, URB602 (100 microM) elevates 2-AG levels in hippocampal slice cultures without affecting levels of other endocannabinoid-related substances. Thus, URB602 may provide a useful tool by which to investigate the physiological roles of 2-AG and explore the potential interest of MGL as a therapeutic target.

Topics: Amides; Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Biphenyl Compounds; Brain; Catalysis; Cerebellum; Endocannabinoids; Enzyme Inhibitors; Ethanolamines; Glycerides; HeLa Cells; Hippocampus; Humans; Kinetics; Male; Monoacylglycerol Lipases; Organophosphonates; Palmitic Acids; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Recombinant Proteins; Structure-Activity Relationship; Transfection