Cannabinoids regulate intestinal motor function and electrophysiological activity of myocytes in rodents

This study aims to investigate the effects of cannabinoid (CB)1 and CB2 receptor ligands on intestinal motor function and muscular electrophysiological activity in rodent gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce intestinal hypomotility. The effect of selective CB1 and CB2 agonists and antagonists on contractility of the muscle strips from rat jejunum was measured using organ bath, and the membrane potential of the jejunal smooth muscle cells was recorded with intracellular microelectrodes. The single cell patch clamp technique was applied to record delayed rectifying potassium currents (IKV) and spontaneous transient outward currents (STOC).

LPS significantly reduced contractility of the smooth muscle strips (p <0.010) and caused hyperpolarization of membrane potential of the smooth muscle cells (p <0.010). This LPS-induced effect was reversed by AM251 and AM630, selective CB1 and CB2 antagonists, respectively, which promoted contractions of smooth muscle strips and triggered cell depolarization (p <0.010). LPS-induced changes were further enhanced in the presence of CB agonists, HU210 and WIN55 (p <0.050 or p <0.010). No effect of HU210 or AM251 on IKV and STOC has been observed. This ex vivo study suggests that CB1 and CB2 receptors are involved in intestinal motor function in normal and LPS-induced pathological states and the regulation of the membrane potential of smooth muscle cells is very likely one of the effective mechanisms.

This is one of the first reports on neuronal regulation of intestinal motility through CB-dependent pathways with potential application in the treatment of inflammatory and functional GI disorders.