Endocannabinoids are released ‘on-demand’ on the basis of physiological need, and can be pharmacologically augmented by inhibiting their catabolic degradation. The endocannabinoid anandamide is degraded by the catabolic enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Anandamide is implicated in the mediation of fear behaviors, including fear extinction, suggesting that selectively elevating brain anandamide could modulate plastic changes in fear. Here we first tested this hypothesis with preclinical experiments employing a novel, potent and selective FAAH inhibitor, AM3506 (5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pentanesulfonyl fluoride). Systemic AM3506 administration before extinction decreased fear during a retrieval test in a mouse model of impaired extinction. AM3506 had no effects on fear in the absence of extinction training, or on various non-fear-related measures. Anandamide levels in the basolateral amygdala were increased by extinction training and augmented by systemic AM3506, whereas application of AM3506 to amygdala slices promoted long-term depression of inhibitory transmission, a form of synaptic plasticity linked to extinction. Further supporting the amygdala as effect-locus, the fear-reducing effects of systemic AM3506 were blocked by intra-amygdala infusion of a CB1 receptor antagonist and were fully recapitulated by intra-amygdala infusion of AM3506. On the basis of these preclinical findings, we hypothesized that variation in the human FAAH gene would predict individual differences in amygdala threat-processing and stress-coping traits. Consistent with this, carriers of a low-expressing FAAH variant (385A allele; rs324420) exhibited quicker habituation of amygdala reactivity to threat, and had lower scores on the personality trait of stress-reactivity. Our findings show that augmenting amygdala anandamide enables extinction-driven reductions in fear in mouse and may promote stress-coping in humans.

Augmentation of endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) signaling represents an emerging approach to the treatment of affective disorders. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) oxygenates arachidonic acid to form prostaglandins, but also inactivates eCBs in vitro. However, the viability of COX-2 as a therapeutic target for in vivo eCB augmentation has not been explored. Here we utilized medicinal chemistry and in vivo analytical and behavioral pharmacological approaches to demonstrate a key role for COX-2 in the regulation of endocannabinoid (eCB) levels in vivo. A novel pharmacological strategy involving “substrate-selective” inhibition of COX-2 was used to augment eCB signaling without affecting related non-eCB lipids or prostaglandin synthesis. Behaviorally, substrate-selective inhibition of COX-2reducedanxiety-like behaviors in mice via increasede CB signaling. These data elucidate a key role for COX-2 in the regulation of eCB signaling and suggest substrate-selective pharmacology represents a viable approach for eCB augmentation with broad therapeutic potential.

Stress is a major risk factor for the development of mood and anxiety disorders; elucidation of novel approaches to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress could have broad clinical applications. Pharmacological augmentation of central endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) signaling may be an effective therapeutic strategy to mitigate the adverse behavioral and physiological consequences of stress. Here we show that acute foot-shock stress induces a transient anxiety state measured 24 h later using the light–dark box assay and novelty-induced hypophagia test. Acute pharmacological inhibition of the anandamide-degrading enzyme, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), reverses the stress-induced anxiety state in a cannabinoid receptor-dependent manner. FAAH inhibition does not significantly affect anxiety-like behaviors in non-stressed mice. Moreover, whole brain anandamide levels are reduced 24 h after acute foot-shock stress and are negatively correlated with anxiety-like behavioral measures in the light–dark box test. These data indicate that central anandamide levels predict acute stress-induced anxiety, and that reversal of stress-induced anandamide deficiency is a key mechanism subserving the therapeutic effects of FAAH inhibition. These studies provide further support that eCB-augmentation is a viable pharmacological strategy for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.

Pharmacologic augmentation of endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) signaling is an emerging therapeutic approach for the treatment of a broad range of pathophysiological conditions. Thus far, pharmacological approaches have focused on inhibition of canonical eCB inactivation pathways, fatty acid amide hydrolase for anandamide and monoacylglycerol lipase for 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Here we review experimental evidence that cyclooxygenase-2-mediated eCB oxygenation represents a third mechanism for terminating eCB action at cannabinoid receptors. We describe the development, molecular mechanisms, and in vivo validation of “substrate-selective” COX-2 inhibitors that prevent eCB inactivation by COX-2 without affecting the prostaglandin generation from arachidonic acid. Lastly, we review recent data on the potential therapeutic applications of substrate-selective COX-2 inhibitors with a focus on neuropsychiatric disorders.

Background: Dopamine transporter (DAT) and ␣-synuclein interact, but the mode and mechanism of ␣-synuclein regulation of DAT activity are less known. Results: Elevated intracellular ␣-synuclein alters DAT-mediated currents and activity that are abrogated by DAT blocker and are absent with heat-inactivated ␣-synuclein. Conclusion: DAT/␣-synuclein interaction at the cell surface alters the ionic coupling of DAT. Significance: This interaction modulates dopamine transmission and thus neuronal function.