2. Academic Validation
  3. The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol produced by diacylglycerol lipase alpha mediates retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission

The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol produced by diacylglycerol lipase alpha mediates retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission

  • Neuron. 2010 Feb 11;65(3):320-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.021.
Asami Tanimura 1,  Maya Yamazaki,  Yuki Hashimotodani,  Motokazu Uchigashima,  Shinya Kawata,  Manabu Abe,  Yoshihiro Kita,  Kouichi Hashimoto,  Takao Shimizu,  Masahiko Watanabe,  Kenji Sakimura,  Masanobu Kano
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
PMID: 20159446 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.021
Abstract

Endocannabinoids are released from postsynaptic neurons and cause retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission. Anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are regarded as two major endocannabinoids. To determine to what extent 2-AG contributes to retrograde signaling, we generated and analyzed mutant mice lacking either of the two 2-AG synthesizing Enzymes diacylglycerol Lipase alpha (DGLalpha) and beta (DGLbeta). We found that endocannabinoid-mediated retrograde synaptic suppression was totally absent in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and striatum of DGLalpha knockout mice, whereas the retrograde suppression was intact in DGLbeta knockout brains. The basal 2-AG content was markedly reduced and stimulus-induced elevation of 2-AG was absent in DGLalpha knockout brains, whereas the 2-AG content was normal in DGLbeta knockout brains. Morphology of the brain and expression of molecules required for 2-AG production Other than DGLs were normal in the two knockout mice. We conclude that 2-AG produced by DGLalpha, but not by DGLbeta, mediates retrograde suppression at central synapses.

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