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Anandamide activates peripheral nociceptors in normal and arthritic rat knee joints
Author(s) -
Gauldie S D,
McQueen D S,
Pertwee R,
Chessell I P
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1038/sj.bjp.0703890
Subject(s) - anandamide , capsazepine , nociceptor , nociception , cannabinoid , medicine , population , trpv1 , peripheral , chemistry , endocrinology , pharmacology , antagonist , anesthesia , cannabinoid receptor , receptor , transient receptor potential channel , environmental health
The effects of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide were studied on peripheral, polymodal nociceptors recorded from normal and chronically inflamed (Freund's adjuvant) knee joint afferents in rats anaesthetized with pentobarbitone. Anandamide (860 nmol) caused a rapid, short lasting excitation of a sub‐population of capsaicin‐sensitive nociceptive afferents in normal knee joints (7.2±2.3 impulses s −1 ; n =15 units from five animals). In arthritic joints there were 9.7±3.0 impulses s −1 ( n =11 from six animals), which was not significantly different from normal joints. The excitation was dose dependent (8.6 – 2900 nmol) and mediated by activation of the vanilloid receptor (VR 1 ) as it was abolished by the VR1 antagonist capsazepine (1 mg kg −1 ). Our results show that anandamide, at high doses, can activate nociceptive afferents innervating the rat knee joints, in contrast with its widely described analgesic actions. British Journal of Pharmacology (2001) 132 , 617–621; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0703890