Commonly used anesthetics modify alcohol and (-)-trans-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in vivo effects on rat cerebral arterioles.

Background: Ethyl alcohol and cannabis are widely used recreational substances with distinct effects on the brain. These drugs increase accidental injuries requiring treatment under anesthesia. Moreover, alcohol and cannabis are often used in anesthetized rodents for biomedical research.

Dual-color miniscope imaging of microvessels and neuronal activity in the hippocampus CA1 region of freely moving mice following alcohol administration.

Moderate-to-heavy episodic ("binge") drinking is the most common form of alcohol consumption in the United States. Alcohol at binge drinking concentrations reduces brain artery diameter in vivo and in vitro in many species including rats, mice, and humans. Despite the critical role played by brain vessels in maintaining neuronal function, there is a shortage of methodologies to simultaneously assess neuron and blood vessel function in deep brain regions.

Differential Functional Contribution of BK Channel Subunits to Aldosterone-Induced Channel Activation in Vascular Smooth Muscle and Eventual Cerebral Artery Dilation.

Calcium/voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) control smooth muscle (SM) tone and cerebral artery diameter. They include channel-forming α and regulatory β subunits, the latter being highly expressed in SM. Both subunits participate in steroid-induced modification of BK activity: β provides recognition for estradiol and cholanes, resulting in BK potentiation, whereas α suffices for BK inhibition by cholesterol or pregnenolone.

Interspecies and regional variability of alcohol action on large cerebral arteries: regulation by KCNMB1 proteins.

Alcohol intake leading to blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) ≥ legal intoxication modifies brain blood flow with increases in some regions and decreases in others. Brain regions receive blood from the Willis' circle branches: anterior, middle (MCA) and posterior cerebral (PCA), and basilar (BA) arteries. Rats and mice have been used to identify the targets mediating ethanol-induced effects on cerebral arteries, with conclusions being freely interchanged, albeit data were obtained in different species/arterial branches.

Cerebrovascular Effects of Alcohol Combined with Tetrahydrocannabinol.

Alcohol (ethanol) and cannabis are among the most widely used recreational drugs in the world. With increased efforts toward legalization of cannabis, there is an alarming trend toward the concomitant (including simultaneous) use of cannabis products with alcohol for recreational purpose. While each drug possesses a distinct effect on cerebral circulation, the consequences of their simultaneous use on cerebral artery diameter have never been studied.

Celastrol Dilates and Counteracts Ethanol-Induced Constriction of Cerebral Arteries.

The increasing recognition of the role played by cerebral artery dysfunction in brain disorders has fueled the search for new cerebrovascular dilators. Celastrol, a natural triterpene undergoing clinical trials for treating obesity, exerts neuroprotection, which was linked to its antioxidant/anti-inflammatory activities. We previously showed that celastrol fit pharmacophore criteria for activating calcium- and voltage-gated potassium channels of large conductance (BK channels) made of subunits cloned from cerebrovascular smooth muscle (SM).