| First Author | Tanimura A | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | Neuron | Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 320-7 |
| PubMed ID | 20159446 | Mgi Jnum | J:167891 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4880854 | Doi | 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.021 |
| Citation | Tanimura A, et al. (2010) The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol produced by diacylglycerol lipase alpha mediates retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission. Neuron 65(3):320-7 |
| abstractText | 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. |
