PharmacoSTORM nanoscale pharmacology reveals cariprazine binding on Islands of Calleja granule cells.

Immunolabeling and autoradiography have traditionally been applied as the methods-of-choice to visualize and collect molecular information about physiological and pathological processes. Here, we introduce PharmacoSTORM super-resolution imaging that combines the complementary advantages of these approaches and enables cell-type- and compartment-specific nanoscale molecular measurements. We exploited rational chemical design for fluorophore-tagged high-affinity receptor ligands and an enzyme inhibitor; and demonstrated broad PharmacoSTORM applicability for three protein classes and for cariprazine, a clinically approved antipsychotic and antidepressant drug. Because the neurobiological substrate of cariprazine has remained elusive, we took advantage of PharmacoSTORM to provide in vivo evidence that cariprazine predominantly binds to D3 dopamine receptors on Islands of Calleja granule cell axons but avoids dopaminergic terminals. These findings show that PharmacoSTORM helps to quantify drug-target interaction sites at the nanoscale level in a cell-type- and subcellular context-dependent manner and within complex tissue preparations. Moreover, the results highlight the underappreciated neuropsychiatric significance of the Islands of Calleja in the ventral forebrain.

Endocannabinoid-mediated long-term depression of afferent excitatory synapses in hippocampal pyramidal cells and GABAergic interneurons.

Although endocannabinoids have emerged as essential retrograde messengers in several forms of synaptic plasticity, it remains controversial whether they mediate long-term depression (LTD) of glutamatergic synapses onto excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the hippocampus. Here, we show that parvalbumin- and somatostatin/metabotropic glutamate receptor 1(a) (mGlu(1a))-positive GABAergic interneurons express diacylglycerol lipase-α (DGL-α), a synthesizing enzyme of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), albeit at lower levels than principal cells. Moreover, this lipase accumulates postsynaptically around afferent excitatory synapses in all three cell types. To address the role of retrograde 2-AG signaling in LTD, we investigated two forms: (1) produced by postsynaptic spiking paired with subsequent presynaptic stimulation or (2) induced by group I mGlu activation by (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG). Neither form of LTD was evoked in the presence of the mGlu(5) antagonist MPEP [2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine], the DGL inhibitor THL [N-formyl-l-leucine (1S)-1-[[(2S,3S)-3-hexyl-4-oxo-2-oxetanyl]methyl]dodecyl ester], or the intracellularly applied Ca(2+) chelator BAPTA in CA1 pyramidal cells, fast-spiking interneurons (representing parvalbumin-containing cells) and interneurons projecting to stratum lacunosum-moleculare (representing somatostatin/mGlu(1a)-expressing interneurons). Both forms of LTD were completely absent in CB(1) cannabinoid receptor knock-out mice, whereas pharmacological blockade of CB(1) led to inconsistent results. Notably, in accordance with their lower DGL-α level, a higher stimulation frequency or higher DHPG concentration was required for LTD induction in interneurons compared with pyramidal cells. These findings demonstrate that hippocampal principal cells and interneurons produce endocannabinoids to mediate LTD in a qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different manner. The shifted induction threshold implies that endocannabinoid-LTD contributes to cortical information processing during distinct network activity patterns in a cell type-specific manner.

Enzymatic machinery for endocannabinoid biosynthesis associated with calcium stores in glutamatergic axon terminals.

Endocannabinoids are regarded as retrograde signaling molecules at various types of synapses throughout the CNS. The lipid derivatives anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are generally thought to be the key molecular players in this process. Previous anatomical and electrophysiological studies provided compelling evidence that the biosynthetic enzyme of 2-AG is indeed localized in the postsynaptic plasma membrane, whereas its target, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, and the enzyme responsible for its inactivation are both found presynaptically. This molecular architecture of 2-AG signaling is a conserved feature of most synapses and supports the retrograde signaling role of 2-AG. Conversely, the molecular and neuroanatomical organization of synaptic anandamide signaling remains largely unknown. In contrast to its predicted role in retrograde signaling, here we show that N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), a biosynthetic enzyme of anandamide and its related bioactive congeners, the N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), is concentrated presynaptically in several types of hippocampal excitatory axon terminals. Furthermore, high-resolution quantitative immunogold labeling demonstrates that this calcium-sensitive enzyme is localized predominantly on the intracellular membrane cisternae of axonal calcium stores. Finally, the highest density of NAPE-PLD is found in mossy terminals of granule cells, which do not express CB1 receptors. Together, these findings suggest that anandamide and related NAEs are also present at glutamatergic synapses, but the sites of their synthesis and action are remarkably different from 2-AG, indicating distinct physiological roles for given endocannabinoids in the regulation of synaptic neurotransmission and plasticity.

Identification of the sites of 2-arachidonoylglycerol synthesis and action imply retrograde endocannabinoid signaling at both GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses in the ventral tegmental area.

Intact endogenous cannabinoid signaling is involved in several aspects of drug addiction. Most importantly, endocannabinoids exert pronounced influence on primary rewarding effects of abused drugs, including exogenous cannabis itself, through the regulation of drug-induced increase in bursting activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Previous electrophysiological studies have proposed that these dopaminergic neurons may release endocannabinoids in an activity-dependent manner to regulate their various synaptic inputs; however, the underlying molecular and anatomical substrates have so far been elusive. To facilitate understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms involving endocannabinoid signaling in drug addiction, we carried out detailed analysis of the molecular architecture of the endocannabinoid system in the VTA. In situ hybridization for sn-1-diacylglycerol lipase-alpha (DGL-alpha), the biosynthetic enzyme of the most abundant endocannabinoid, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), revealed that DGL-alpha was expressed at moderate to high levels by most neurons of the VTA. Immunostaining for DGL-alpha resulted in a widespread punctate pattern at the light microscopic level, whereas high-resolution electron microscopic analysis demonstrated that this pattern is due to accumulation of the enzyme adjacent to postsynaptic specializations of several distinct morphological types of glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses. These axon terminal types carried presynaptic CB(1) cannabinoid receptors on the opposite side of DGL-alpha-containing synapses and double immunostaining confirmed that DGL-alpha is present on the plasma membrane of both tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive (dopaminergic) and TH-negative dendrites. These findings indicate that retrograde synaptic signaling mediated by 2-AG via CB(1) may influence the drug-reward circuitry at multiple types of synapses in the VTA.

Hardwiring the brain: endocannabinoids shape neuronal connectivity.

The roles of endocannabinoid signaling during central nervous system development are unknown. We report that CB(1) cannabinoid receptors (CB(1)Rs) are enriched in the axonal growth cones of gamma-aminobutyric acid-containing (GABAergic) interneurons in the rodent cortex during late gestation. Endocannabinoids trigger CB(1)R internalization and elimination from filopodia and induce chemorepulsion and collapse of axonal growth cones of these GABAergic interneurons by activating RhoA. Similarly, endocannabinoids diminish the galvanotropism of Xenopus laevis spinal neurons. These findings, together with the impaired target selection of cortical GABAergic interneurons lacking CB(1)Rs, identify endocannabinoids as axon guidance cues and demonstrate that endocannabinoid signaling regulates synaptogenesis and target selection in vivo.

Molecular composition of the endocannabinoid system at glutamatergic synapses.

Endocannabinoids play central roles in retrograde signaling at a wide variety of synapses throughout the CNS. Although several molecular components of the endocannabinoid system have been identified recently, their precise location and contribution to retrograde synaptic signaling is essentially unknown. Here we show, by using two independent riboprobes, that principal cell populations of the hippocampus express high levels of diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DGL-alpha), the enzyme involved in generation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG). Immunostaining with two independent antibodies against DGL-alpha revealed that this lipase was concentrated in heads of dendritic spines throughout the hippocampal formation. Furthermore, quantification of high-resolution immunoelectron microscopic data showed that this enzyme was highly compartmentalized into a wide perisynaptic annulus around the postsynaptic density of axospinous contacts but did not occur intrasynaptically. On the opposite side of the synapse, the axon terminals forming these excitatory contacts were found to be equipped with presynaptic CB1 cannabinoid receptors. This precise anatomical positioning suggests that 2-AG produced by DGL-alpha on spine heads may be involved in retrograde synaptic signaling at glutamatergic synapses, whereas CB1 receptors located on the afferent terminals are in an ideal position to bind 2-AG and thereby adjust presynaptic glutamate release as a function of postsynaptic activity. We propose that this molecular composition of the endocannabinoid system may be a general feature of most glutamatergic synapses throughout the brain and may contribute to homosynaptic plasticity of excitatory synapses and to heterosynaptic plasticity between excitatory and inhibitory contacts.