Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia; Discipline of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
Department of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, IL 60611, USA.
Neuropharmacology. 2022 Mar 1;205:108897. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108897. Epub 2021 Nov 22.
Dravet syndrome is a catastrophic childhood epilepsy with multiple seizure types that are refractory to treatment. The endocannabinoid system regulates neuronal excitability so a deficit in endocannabinoid signaling could lead to hyperexcitability and seizures. Thus, we sought to determine whether a deficiency in the endocannabinoid system might contribute to seizure phenotypes in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome and whether enhancing endocannabinoid tone is anticonvulsant. Scn1a mice model the clinical features of Dravet syndrome: hyperthermia-induced seizures, spontaneous seizures and reduced survival. We examined whether Scn1a mice exhibit deficits in the endocannabinoid system by measuring brain cannabinoid receptor expression and endocannabinoid concentrations. Next, we determined whether pharmacologically enhanced endocannabinoid tone was anticonvulsant in Scn1a mice. We used GAT229, a positive allosteric modulator of the cannabinoid (CB) receptor, and ABX-1431, a compound that inhibits the degradation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). The Scn1a phenotype is strain-dependent with mice on a 129S6/SvEvTac (129) genetic background having no overt phenotype and those on an F1 (129S6/SvEvTac x C57BL/6J) background exhibiting a severe epilepsy phenotype. We observed lower brain cannabinoid CB receptor expression in the seizure-susceptible F1 compared to seizure-resistant 129 strain, suggesting an endocannabinoid deficiency might contribute to seizure susceptibility. GAT229 and ABX-1431 were anticonvulsant against hyperthermia-induced seizures. However, subchronic ABX1431 treatment increased spontaneous seizure frequency despite reducing seizure severity. Cnr1 is a putative genetic modifier of epilepsy in the Scn1a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. Compounds that increase endocannabinoid tone could be developed as novel treatments for Dravet syndrome.
德拉维特综合征是一种灾难性的儿童癫痫,有多种类型的癫痫发作,且对治疗有抗药性。内源性大麻素系统调节神经元兴奋性,因此内源性大麻素信号传递缺陷可能导致过度兴奋和癫痫发作。因此,我们试图确定内源性大麻素系统的缺陷是否会导致德拉维特综合征小鼠模型中的癫痫表型,以及增强内源性大麻素的作用是否具有抗惊厥作用。 Scn1a 小鼠模型具有德拉维特综合征的临床特征:发热诱导的癫痫发作、自发性癫痫发作和存活率降低。我们通过测量大脑大麻素受体表达和内源性大麻素浓度来检查 Scn1a 小鼠是否存在内源性大麻素系统缺陷。接下来,我们确定了在 Scn1a 小鼠中,药物增强内源性大麻素的作用是否具有抗惊厥作用。我们使用了 GAT229,这是一种大麻素(CB)受体的正变构调节剂,以及 ABX-1431,这是一种抑制内源性大麻素 2-花生四烯酸甘油(2-AG)降解的化合物。 Scn1a 表型具有品系依赖性,129S6/SvEvTac(129)遗传背景的小鼠没有明显的表型,而 F1(129S6/SvEvTac x C57BL/6J)背景的小鼠则表现出严重的癫痫表型。我们观察到,在易发生癫痫发作的 F1 中,大脑大麻素 CB 受体的表达低于不易发生癫痫发作的 129 品系,这表明内源性大麻素缺乏可能导致癫痫易感性。 GAT229 和 ABX-1431 对抗热诱导的癫痫发作具有抗惊厥作用。然而,尽管 ABX1431 亚慢性治疗降低了癫痫发作的严重程度,但增加了自发性癫痫发作的频率。 Cnr1 是德拉维特综合征 Scn1a 小鼠模型中癫痫的潜在遗传修饰因子。增加内源性大麻素作用的化合物可能被开发为治疗德拉维特综合征的新方法。