Lallemand, Frédéric
[UCL]
De Witte, Philippe
[UCL]
AIMS: Previous studies have shown that CB(1) cannabinoid receptors are involved in the behavioural effects induced by chronic ethanol administration in Wistar rats by using SR 141716, a CB(1) cannabinoid receptor antagonist. These studies have now been extended to investigate the effect of acute and chronic alcoholization on blood ethanol concentration (BEC) and ethanol preference in CB(1) knockout (-/-) mice. METHODS: BEC was monitored for a period of 8 h in both CB(1)(-/-) male mice and CB(1) male wild-type (+/+) mice, which had received an acute i.p. injection of ethanol in 1, 3 or 5 g/kg doses. Ethanol preference was assayed in both groups of male mice in non-forced ethanol administration and forced chronic pulmonary alcohol administration for 14 and 39 days, respectively. RESULTS: After an acute intraperitoneal ethanol injection of 5 g/kg, CB(1)(-/-) mice showed a significant higher BEC during the ethanol elimination stage than the CB(1)(+/+) mice. However, those in the 1 and 3 g/kg groups showed no significant difference. A 2-3 fold increase in BEC was observed in CB(1)(-/-) mice on days 10 and 11 after commencement of forced chronic pulmonary alcoholization in comparison with CB(1)(+/+) mice, although comparable BEC values were assayed in both groups on day 12. In addition, these CB(1)(-/-) mice showed a significantly lower preference for ethanol than CB(1)(+/+) mice. CONCLUSIONS: The studies on CB(1)(-/-) and CB(1)(+/+) mice have clearly confirmed the involvement of CB(1) receptor on ethanol induced behavioural effects and also revealed that CB(1) receptors may be implicated in ethanol absorption/distribution, particularly after administration of high ethanol doses.
Bibliographic reference |
Lallemand, Frédéric ; De Witte, Philippe. Ethanol induces higher BEC in CB1 cannabinoid receptor knockout mice while decreasing ethanol preference.. In: Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), Vol. 40, no. 1, p. 54-62 (2005) |
Permanent URL |
http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/10030 |