BMC pharmacology
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The contributions of brain cannabinoid (CB) receptors, typically CB1 (CB type 1) receptors, to the behavioral effects of nicotine (NC) have been reported to involve brain transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptors, and the activation of candidate endogenous TRPV1 ligands is expected to be therapeutically effective. In the present study, the effects of TRPV1 ligands with or without affinity for CB1 receptors were examined on NC-induced depression-like behavioral alterations in a mouse model in order to elucidate the "antidepressant-like" contributions of TRPV1 receptors against the NC-induced "depression" observed in various types of tobacco abuse. ⋯ The antidepressant-like effects of TRPV1 agonists shown in the present study suggest a characteristic involvement of TRPV1 receptors in NC-induced depression-like behaviors, similar to those caused by IM. The strong antidepressant-like effects of the potent TRPV1 plus CB1 agonist AR, which has been reported to cause part of its TRPV1-mimetic and cannabimimetic effects presumably via non-TRPV1 or non-CB1 mechanisms support a contribution from other sites of action which may play a therapeutically important role in the treatment of NC abuse.
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The serotonin 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) is expressed in amygdala, a region involved in anxiety and fear responses and implicated in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders such as acute anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. In humans and in rodent models, there is evidence of both anxiogenic and anxiolytic actions of 5-HT2C ligands. In this study, we determined the responsiveness of 5-HT2CR in serotonin transporter (SERT) knockout (-/-) mice, a model characterized by increased anxiety-like and stress-responsive behaviors. ⋯ These results indicate that the 5-HT2CR in the amygdala of SERT-/- mice has increased RNA editing, which could explain, at least in part, the decreased behavioral responses to 5-HT2C agonists in SERT-/- mice. These alterations in 5-HT2CR in amygdala may be relevant to humans with SERT polymorphisms that alter SERT expression, function, and emotional behaviors.