The FAAH inhibitor URB597 suppresses hippocampal maximal dentate after-discharges and restores seizure-induced impairment of short and long-term synaptic plasticity

Colangeli, Roberto, Pierucci, Massimo, Benigno, Arcangelo, Campiani, Giuseppe, Butini, Sefania and Di Giovanni, Giuseppe 2018. The FAAH inhibitor URB597 suppresses hippocampal maximal dentate after-discharges and restores seizure-induced impairment of short and long-term synaptic plasticity. Scientific Reports 7 , 11152. 10.1038/s41598-017-11606-1

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

Synthetic cannabinoids and phytocannabinoids have been shown to suppress seizures both in humans and experimental models of epilepsy. However, they generally have a detrimental effect on memory and memory-related processes. Here we compared the effect of the inhibition of the endocannabinoid (eCB) degradation versus synthetic CB agonist on limbic seizures induced by maximal dentate activation (MDA) acute kindling. Moreover, we investigated the dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell reactivity and synaptic plasticity in naïve and in MDA-kindled anaesthetised rats. We found that both the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 and the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 displayed AM251-sensitive anti-seizure effects. WIN55,212-2, dose-dependently (0.5–2 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired short-term plasticity (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) at perforant path-DG synapses in naïve rats. Strikingly, URB597 (1 mg/kg, i.p.) was devoid of any deleterious effects in normal conditions, while it prevented seizure-induced alterations of both STP and LTP. Our evidence indicates that boosting the eCB tone rather than general CB1 activation might represent a potential strategy for the development of a new class of drugs for treatment of both seizures and comorbid memory impairments associated with epilepsy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:	2045-2322
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 May 2018
Date of Acceptance:	25 August 2017
Last Modified:	13 May 2023 01:59
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/110517

Citation Data

Cited 31 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item