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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Levator Auris Longus Preparation for Examination of Mammalian Neuromuscular Transmission Under Voltage Clamp Conditions
Published on: May 5, 2018
Cannabinoid-induced increase of quantal size and enhanced neuromuscular transmission
Marco Morsch1,2, Dario A Protti3, Delfine Cheng4
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia. marco.morsch@mq.edu.au.
Abstract:
Cannabinoids exert dynamic control over many physiological processes including memory formation, cognition and pain perception. In the central nervous system endocannabinoids mediate negative feedback of quantal transmitter release following postsynaptic depolarization. The influence of cannabinoids in the peripheral nervous system is less clear and might have broad implications for the therapeutic application of cannabinoids. We report a novel cannabinoid effect upon the mouse neuromuscular synapse: acutely increasing synaptic vesicle volume and raising the quantal amplitudes. In a mouse model of myasthenia gravis the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212 reversed fatiguing failure of neuromuscular transmission, suggesting future therapeutic potential. Our data suggest an endogenous pathway by which cannabinoids might help to regulate transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction.
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