Sugiura T, Kodaka T, Kondo S, Tonegawa T, Nakane S, Kishimoto S, Yamashita A, Waku K
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Kanagawa, Japan.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1996 Dec 4;229(1):58-64. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1996.1757.
Low concentrations of 2-arachidonoylglycerol were found to induce rapid, transient elevation of intracellular free Ca2+ in NG108-15 cells (EC50 was 150 nM). Free arachidonic acid, 2-palmitoylglycerol, 2-oleoylglycerol, 2-linoleoylglycerol and 2-docosahexaenoylglycerol were inactive. Anandamide acted as a partial agonist. Importantly, desensitization was observed upon sequential challenge with 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Furthermore, cross-desensitization was observed between 2-arachidonoylglycerol and WIN 55212-2, a cannabinoid receptor agonist. Pretreatment of the cells with SR141716A, a cannabinoid receptor antagonist, abolished the activities of both 2-arachidonoylglycerol and WIN 55212-2. These results strongly suggest that 2-arachidonoylglycerol and WIN 55212-2 bind to a common cannabinoid receptor to elicit cellular responses and that 2-arachidonoylglycerol has some physiological role in nervous tissues.
