Abstract   The objective of the present study was to analyse the peripheral effects of cannabinoids on adrenaline release from adrenal chromaffin cells. In pithed rabbits with electrically stimulated sympathetic outflow, intravenous injection of the cannabinoid receptor agonists WIN55212-2 and CP55940 (5, 50 and 500 μg kg−1) markedly lowered the plasma adrenaline concentration. The effect of WIN55212-2 was attenuated by the selective CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist SR141716A (500 μg kg−1). WIN55212-3 (same doses as WIN55212-2), the enantiomer of WIN55212-2 lacking affinity for cannabinoid receptors, had no effect on the plasma adrenaline concentration. In rabbit isolated adrenal glands, the release of adrenaline elicited by electrical stimulation was measured by fast...

Abstract Background Levels of cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) mRNA and protein, which are expressed most heavily in the cholecystokinin class of GABA neurons, are lower in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in schizophrenia, and the magnitude of these differences is strongly correlated with that for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67) mRNA, a synthesizing enzyme for GABA. However, whether this correlation reflects a cause-effect relationship is unknown. Methods Using quantitative in situ hybridization, we measured CB1R, GAD67, and diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DAGLα; the synthesizing enzyme for the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol) mRNA levels in the medial prefrontal cortex of genetically-engineered GAD67 heterozygous (GAD67+/−), CB1R heterozygous (CB1R+/−), CB1R knockout (CB1R−/−), and matched...