Protective effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists against cocaine and other convulsant-induced toxic behavioural symptoms.

Based on the previously reported co-localization and relationship between cannabinoid and dopamine receptors, the effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists against cocaine-induced toxic behavioural symptoms, including convulsive seizures, were examined in mice. The anticonvulsant effect of several cannabimimetics against seizures induced by other convulsants was also compared. The cannabinoid receptor agonists CP 55940 ((-)-cis-3-[2-hydroxy-4-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)phenyl]-trans-4-(3-hydroxypropyl)-cyclohexanol) and WIN 55212-2 ((R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-1-naphthalenylmethanone), and the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide were co-administered intraperitoneally with cocaine (75 mg kg(-1)) or other convulsants such as bicuculline, methyl 6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-carboxylate (DMCM), L-glutamic acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). CP 55940 (2.5 mg kg(-1)) and anandamide (15 mg kg(-1)) significantly antagonized cocaine-induced lethality, and CP 55940 and WIN 55212-2 (2.5 mg kg(-1)) significantly attenuated the severity of cocaine-induced convulsive seizures. Furthermore, ataxic hyperactivity, which was observed only in the cocaine-treated group of mice and could be evaluated by their activity counts, was also depressed in the groups of mice co-treated with each of the three cannabinoid agonists. However, none of these agonists protected against bicuculline- or DMCM-induced lethality or convulsive seizures. In contrast, all of the cannabinoid agonists, most notably anandamide, antagonized both L-glutamic acid (2 g kg(-1))- and NMDA (200 mg kg(-1))-induced convulsive seizures. These data support the previously reported close correlation between dopamine and cannabinoid receptors, and between cannabinoid agonists, especially anandamide, and glutamate (NMDA) receptors. Furthermore, these results suggest a potential therapeutic role for cannabinoid agonists against cocaine- and other-convulsant-induced toxicities.