Effects of Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists on Rat Gastric Acid Secretion: Discrepancy Between In Vitro and In Vivo Data

Abstract

The effects of the cannabinoid (CB)-receptor agonists WIN55,212-2 and HU-210 and the selective CB₁-receptor antagonist SR141716A were tested on in vitro and in vivo acid secretion assays from the rat. In the isolated gastric fundus from immature rats, WIN55,212-2 (0.001–30 μ M), HU-210 (0.001–10 μ M), or SR141716A (0.1–10 μ M) did not change the basal acid output or acid responses to histamine, pentagastrin, or electrical field stimulation. HU-210 (0.3 μ mol/kg, intravenously) inhibited the acid response to pentagastrin in anesthetized adult, young, or immature rats with lumen-perfused stomachs; moreover, HU-210 reduced vagally induced acid secretion in adult animals, its antisecretory effect being reversed by SR141716A (0.65 μ mol/kg, intravenously). In vitro and in vivo data indicate that CB₁ receptors are not located on parietal cells but, rather, on vagal pathways (possibly at preganglionic sites) supplying the gastric mucosa. The lack of effect of CB-receptor ligands in vitro cannot be ascribed to the use of immature rats, since HU-210 inhibited stimulated acid secretion in vivo, irrespective of the animal age.