EFFECT OF TETRAHYDROCANNABINOLS ON ACETYLCHOLINE-H-3 BIOSYNTHESIS IN VARIOUS RAT-BRAIN SLICES

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 196  (2) , 339-345
Abstract
The effects of .DELTA.8- and .DELTA.9-tetrahydrocannabinol (as identified in Cannabis sativa) on the biosynthesis of 3H-acetylcholine (ACh) from 3H-choline in cortical, hypothalamic and striatal rat brain slices were examined. The 2 cannabinols inhibited the synthesis of 3H-ACh in the 3 brain regions. Treatment with cannabidiol did not alter ACh synthesis. .DELTA.8-Tetrahydrocannabinol was approximately twice as effective as the .DELTA.9-isomer. This effect was not associated with alterations in striatal and cortical choline acetyltransferase or with an impaired high-affinity uptake system for choline in the striatum. Treatment with .DELTA.8- and .DELTA.9-cannabinols did not change striatal choline and ACh levels. Antagonism of the ACh biosynthesis inhibition occurred when slices from treated animals were incubated in depolarizing concentration of K+. The inhibition of ACh synthesis observed in tetrahydrocannabinol-treated rats may be related to interference with the propagated action potential or with the depolarization process in cholinergic neurons.

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