Rational design of a novel peripherally-restricted, orally active CB(1) cannabinoid antagonist containing a 2,3-diarylpyrrole motif.

A new series of 2,3-diarylpyrroles have been prepared and evaluated as CB(1) antagonists. Modulation of the topological polar surface area allowed the identification of high affinity peripherally-restricted CB(1) antagonists. Compound 11, obtained after further optimization of the metabolic profile displayed very low brain penetration, yet was able to reverse CP55940-induced gastrointestinal transit inhibition following oral administration.

[Pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors].

The endocannabinoid (EC) system is a physiological system with an important regulatory role in numerous biological functions, both centrally and peripherally. In certain conditions it can become hyperactive and induce a variety of disorders. The system has two receptor types, designated CB1 and CB2 (present respectively in the CNS and the periphery), as well as endogenous ligands (AEA and 2-AG) and equipment for transporting, synthesizing and degrading them.

Cannabinoid CB(2) receptor activation prevents bronchoconstriction and airway oedema in a model of gastro-oesophageal reflux.

Cannabinoids have been shown to inhibit sensory nerve activation in guinea-pigs and humans. Their effects are mediated by specific activation of two types of receptors, named CB(1) and CB(2). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of WIN 55,212-2, (R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5methyl-3-[(4-morpholino)methyl]pyrrolo-[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl](1-naphthyl)methanone, a non selective agonist of cannabinoid receptors, and JWH 133, (6aR,10aR)-3-(1,1-dimethylbutyl)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran a selective cannabinoid CB(2) receptor agonist, on the sensory nerve component of intraoesophageal (i.

Different pharmacological profile of two closely related endocannabinoid ester analogs.

The pharmacological and neuroprotective properties of two ester analogs of the endocannabinoids, arachidonoylethyleneglycol (AA-EG) and alpha,alpha,-dimethyl arachidonoylethyleneglycol (DMA-EG), were investigated. We examined the interaction of both compounds with cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and their efficacy in functional assays. In competition binding assays, AA-EG and DMA-EG had low potency to displace the CB1/CB2 agonist [3H]CP-55,940 in membrane preparations expressing rodent or human receptors.

SR147778 [5-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-ethyl-N-(1-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide], a new potent and selective antagonist of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor: biochemical and pharmacological characterization.

Based on binding, functional, and pharmacological data, this study introduces SR147778 [5-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-4-ethyl-N-(1-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide] as a highly potent, selective, and orally active antagonist for the CB1 receptor. This compound displays nanomolar affinity (Ki = 0.56 and 3.

Carbon-11 labeled radioligands for imaging brain cannabinoid receptors.

Two radioligands, [(11)C] SR149080 and its morpholino analog [(11)C] SR149568, were synthesized by reaction of the respective phenolic precursors with [(11)C] methyl iodide. Both radioligands had appropriate regional brain distribution for cannabinoid receptors in mice with peak target to non-target ratios of 2.2 for [(11)C] SR149080 and 1.

Modulation of gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit in rats through intestinal cannabinoid CB(1) receptors.

We studied the delay in gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit induced by the cannabinoid receptor agonists (+)-WIN 55,212-2 (R(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl)methyl]pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-yl]-(1-naphthalenyl)methanone mesylate) and CP 55,940 ((-)-cis-3[2-hydroxy-4-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl]-trans-4-(3-hydroxypropyl) cyclohexanol), as prevented by the selective cannabinoid CB(1)-receptor antagonist SR141716 ((N-piperidino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methylpyrazole-3-carboxamide)) in rats after systemic or central drug administration. Oral SR141716 showed comparable potency (ID(50) range 1.0-3.

Functional assessment of neuronal cannabinoid receptors in the muscular layers of human ileum and colon.

Background & Aims: The notion that specific receptors account for the ability of natural and synthetic cannabinoids to alter physiological functions, prompted this study aimed at assessing their functional presence in the human gut.

Methods: The effects have been studied of cannabinoids and selective antagonists of their receptors on chemically or electrically evoked contractions in preparations of human intestinal smooth muscle in vitro.

Results: Atropine prevented the contractions of longitudinal and circular muscle strips of ileum and colon induced by carbachol or electrical field stimulation; tetrodotoxin abolished only the latter which suggests they do involve activation of cholinergic neurons.

Biodistribution of [18F] SR144385 and [18F] SR147963: selective radioligands for positron emission tomographic studies of brain cannabinoid receptors.

ABSTRACT. [(18)F] SR144385 and [(18)F] SR147963 were synthesized in a multistep reaction in which fluorine-18 was introduced by nucleophilic halogen displacement on a bromo precursor. The fluorine-18-labeled intermediate was deprotected and coupled with the appropriate alkyl amine to give the final products.

Mutational analysis and molecular modelling of the antagonist SR 144528 binding site on the human cannabinoid CB(2) receptor.

We have investigated the binding site of the subtype specific antagonist SR 144528, (N-[(1S)-endo-1,3,3-trimethyl bicyclo [2.2. 1]heptan-2-yl]-5-(4-chloro-3-methylphenyl)-1-(4-methoxybenzyl)- pyrazo le-3-carboxamide) on the human cannabinoid CB(2) receptor based on functional studies with mutated receptors.

The development of cannabinoid antagonists.

The discovery of two distinct cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in the early 1990's has revived the research on cannabinoid antagonists. While the search for antagonists based on the structure of agonists (classical cannabinoids or aminoalkylindoles) appeared rather disappointing, the first potent cannabinoid antagonists were developed in a new chemical series: the diarylpyrazoles. Since its discovery in 1994, the selective CB1 antagonist SR 141716 has became a major pharmacological tool to elucidate the physiological role of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and its endogenous ligand.

Cannabinoid receptor interactions with the antagonists SR 141716A and SR 144528.

The G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor subtypes CB1 and CB2 have been cloned from several species. The CB1 receptor is highly conserved across species, whereas the CB2 receptor shows considerable cross-species variations. The two human receptors share only 44% overall identity, ranging from 35% to 82% in the transmembrane regions.

SR 144528, an antagonist for the peripheral cannabinoid receptor that behaves as an inverse agonist.

In the present report, we investigated in detail the effects of SR 144528, a selective antagonist of the peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2), on two well-characterized functions mediated by CB2: the induction of the early response gene krox24 and the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. We generated Chinese hamster ovary cells doubly transfected with human CB2 and a luciferase reporter gene linked to either the murine krox24 regulatory sequence or multiple cAMP responsive elements. Our results show that (1) SR 144528 antagonizes the effect of receptor agonists-it inhibits the krox24 reporter activity and prevents the inhibition of forskolin-induced cAMP reporter activity mediated by CP 55,940; (2) CB2 is autoactivated-CB2 mediates signaling in the absence of ligand, and this basal activity is reduced by pretreating the cells with pertussis toxin; (3) SR 144528 is an inverse agonist-it reproduces the effects of pertussis toxin; and (4) inhibition of precoupled CB2 by a long-term pretreatment of cells with SR 144528 potentiates krox24 response to cannabinoid receptor agonists and restores activation of adenylyl cyclase.

In vitro functional evidence of neuronal cannabinoid CB1 receptors in human ileum.

We investigated the effect of the cannabinoid agonist (+)WIN-55212-2 on human ileum longitudinal smooth muscle preparations, either electrically stimulated or contracted by carbachol. Electrical field stimulation mostly activated cholinergic neurons, since atropine and tetrodotoxin (TTX), alone or coincubated, reduced twitch responses to a similar degree (85%). (+)WIN-55212-2 concentration-dependently inhibited twitch responses (IC50 73 nM), but had no additive effect with atropine or TTX.

Modulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor functions after a long-term exposure to agonist or inverse agonist in the Chinese hamster ovary cell expression system.

We have investigated the adaptive changes of the human central cannabinoid receptor (CB1) stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-CB1), after agonist (CP 55,940) or selective CB1 inverse agonist (SR 141716) treatment. CB1 receptor density and affinity constant as measured by binding assays with both tritiated ligands remained essentially unchanged after varying period exposure of CHO-CB1 cells (from 30 min to 72 hr) to saturating concentrations of CP 55,940 or SR 141716. However, using a C-myc-tagged version of the CB1 receptor, FACS analysis and confocal microscopy studies on CB1 expression indicated that the agonist promoted a disappearance of cell surface receptor although inverse agonist increased its cell surface density.

The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide is a lipid messenger activating cell growth via a cannabinoid receptor-independent pathway in hematopoietic cell lines.

The effect of anandamide, an endogenous ligand for central (CB1) and peripheral (CB2) cannabinoid receptors, was investigated on the growth of the murine IL-6-dependent lymphoid cell line B9 and the murine IL-3-dependent myeloblastic cell line FDC-P1. In conditions of low serum level, anandamide potentiated the growth of both cytokine-dependent cell lines. Comparison with other fatty acid cannabinoid ligands such as (R)-methanandamide, a ligand with improved selectivity for the CB1 receptor, or palmitylethanolamide, an endogenous ligand for the CB2 receptor, showed a very similar effect, suggesting that cell growth enhancement by anandamide or its analogs could be mediated through either receptor subtype.

SR 144528, the first potent and selective antagonist of the CB2 cannabinoid receptor.

Based on both binding and functional data, this study introduces SR 144528 as the first, highly potent, selective and orally active antagonist for the CB2 receptor. This compound which displays subnanomolar affinity (Ki = 0.6 nM) for both the rat spleen and cloned human CB2 receptors has a 700-fold lower affinity (Ki = 400 nM) for both the rat brain and cloned human CB1 receptors.

A selective inverse agonist for central cannabinoid receptor inhibits mitogen-activated protein kinase activation stimulated by insulin or insulin-like growth factor 1. Evidence for a new model of receptor/ligand interactions.

In the present study, we showed that Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with human central cannabinoid receptor (CB1) exhibit high constitutive activity at both levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and adenylyl cyclase. These activities could be blocked by the CB1-selective ligand, SR 141716A, that functions as an inverse agonist. Moreover, binding studies showed that guanine nucleotides decreased the binding of the agonist CP-55,940, an effect usually observed with agonists, whereas it enhanced the binding of SR 141716A, a property of inverse agonists.

Characterization of CB1 receptors on rat neuronal cell cultures: binding and functional studies using the selective receptor antagonist SR 141716A.

This study was undertaken to characterize further the central cannabinoid receptors in rat primary neuronal cell cultures from selected brain structures. By using [3H]SR 141716A, the specific CB1 receptor antagonist, we demonstrate in cortical neurons the presence of a high density of specific binding sites (Bmax = 139 +/- 9 fmol/mg of protein) displaying a high affinity (KD = 0.76 +/- 0.

Characterization of two cloned human CB1 cannabinoid receptor isoforms.

We have investigated the pharmacology of two central human cannabinoid receptor isoforms, designated CB1 and CB1A, stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cell lines, designated as CHO-CB1 and CHO-CB1A, respectively. In direct binding assays on isolated membranes the agonist [3H]CP 55,940 bound in a saturable and highly specific manner to both cannabinoid receptor isoforms. Competition binding experiments performed with other commonly used receptor agonists showed the following rank order of potency: CP 55,940 > tetrahydrocannabinol > WIN 55212-2 > anandamide.

Improvement of memory in rodents by the selective CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, SR 141716.

Social short-term memory in rodents is based on the recognition of a juvenile by an adult conspecific when the juvenile is presented on two successive occasions. Cannabimimetics are claimed to induce memory deficits in both humans and animals. In the brain, they mainly bind to CB1 receptors for which anandamide is a purported endogenous ligand.

Molecular cloning, expression and function of the murine CB2 peripheral cannabinoid receptor.

We have cloned the peripheral cannabinoid receptor, mCB2, from a mouse splenocyte cDNA library. The 3.7 kb sequence contains an open reading frame encoding a protein of 347 residues sharing 82% overall identity with the only other known peripheral receptor, human CB2 (hCB2) and shorter than hCB2 by 13 amino acids at the carboxyl terminus.

Signaling pathway associated with stimulation of CB2 peripheral cannabinoid receptor. Involvement of both mitogen-activated protein kinase and induction of Krox-24 expression.

Cannabinoids, known for their psychoactive effects, also possess immunomodulatory properties. The recent isolation and cloning of the G-protein-coupled peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2), mainly expressed in immune tissues, have provided molecular tools to determine how cannabinoid compounds may mediate immunomodulation. We here investigated the CB2 signaling properties using stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing human CB2.

Central mediation of the cannabinoid cue: activity of a selective CB1 antagonist, SR 141716A.

Active cannabimimetic drugs are known to bind to two receptor subtypes: one, called CB1, is mainly localised in the central nervous system while the other (CB2) is expressed preferentially in the immune system. SR 141716A has been demonstrated to have a nanomolar affinity for CB1 receptor subtypes and a micromolar affinity for CB2 receptors. Moreover, it is an effective antagonist at these receptors both in vitro (antagonism of cannabinoid activity in vas deferens) and in vivo (suppression of the hypothermia elicited by WIN 55,212-2).

Characterization and distribution of binding sites for [3H]-SR 141716A, a selective brain (CB1) cannabinoid receptor antagonist, in rodent brain.

SR 141716A belongs to a new class of compounds (diarylpyrazole) that inhibits brain cannabinoid receptors (CB1) in vitro and in vivo. The present study showed that [3H]-SR 141716A binds with high affinity (Kd=0.61 +/- 0.