Endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors ameliorate neuronal and synaptic alterations following traumatic brain injury

Our previous work showed that lateral fluid percussion injury to the sensorimotor cortex (SMC) of anesthetized rats increased neuronal synaptic hyperexcitability in layer 5 (L5) neurons in ex vivo brain slices 10 days postinjury. Furthermore, endocannabinoid (EC) degradation inhibition via intraperitoneal JZL184 injection 30 min postinjury attenuated synaptic hyperexcitability. This study tested the hypothesis that traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces synaptic and intrinsic neuronal alterations of L5 SMC pyramidal neurons and that these alterations are significantly attenuated by in vivo post-TBI treatment with EC degradation inhibitors. We tested the effects of systemically administered EC degradation enzyme inhibitors (JZL184, MJN110, URB597, or JZL195) with differential selectivity for fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) on electrophysiological parameters in SMC neurons of TBI- and sham-treated rats 10 days post-TBI. We recorded intrinsic neuronal properties, including resting membrane voltage, input resistance, spike threshold, spiking responses to current input, voltage "sag" (rebound response to hyperpolarization-activated inward current), and burst firing. We also measured the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents. We then used the aggregate parameter sets (intrinsic + synaptic properties) to apply a machine learning classification algorithm to quantitatively compare neural population responses from each experimental group. Collectively, our electrophysiological and computational results indicate that sham neurons are the most distinguishable from TBI neurons. Administration of EC degradation inhibitors post-TBI exerted varying degrees of rescue, approximating the neuronal phenotype of sham neurons, with neurons from TBI/JZL195 (a dual MAGL/FAAH inhibitor) being most similar to neurons from sham rats.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study elucidates neuronal properties altered by traumatic brain injury (TBI) in layer 5 of sensorimotor cortex, which may be implicated in post-TBI circuit dysfunction. We compared effects of systemic administration of four different endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors within a clinically relevant window postinjury. Electrophysiological measures and using a machine learning classification algorithm collectively suggest that pharmacological inhibitors targeting both monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydrolase (e.g., JZL195) may be most efficacious in attenuating TBI-induced neuronal dysfunction at site of injury.