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Cultured Rat Microglial Cells Synthesize the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonylglycerol, Which Increases Proliferation via a CB₂ Receptor-Dependent Mechanism

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Microglia, as phagocytes and antigen-presenting cells in the central nervous system, are activated in such disease processes as stroke and multiple sclerosis. Because peripheral macrophages are capable of producing endocannabinoids, we have examined endocannabinoid production in a macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF)-dependent rat microglial cell line (RTMGL1) using reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. We determined that cultured microglial cells produce the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) as well as anandamide in smaller quantities. When 2-AG, but not anandamide, is added exogenously, RTMGL1 microglia increase their proliferation. This increased proliferation is blocked by an antagonist of the CB₂ receptor N-[(1S)endo-1,3,3-trimethyl bicyclo heptan-2-yl]-5-(4-chloro-3-methylphenyl)-1-(4-methylbenzyl)-pyrazole-3-carboxamide (SR144528) and mimicked by the CB₂ receptor-specific agonist 1,1-dimethylbutyl-1-deoxy-⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (JWH133). Accompanying the increase in proliferation seen with 2-AG is an increase in active ERK1 that is also blocked with SR144528. The RTMGL1 microglial cells, which exist in a primed state, express the CB₁ and CB₂ receptors as demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunostaining. The CB₂ receptor in untreated cells is expressed both at the cell surface and internally, and exposure of the cells to 2-AG significantly increases receptor internalization. These data suggest that 2-AG activation of CB₂ receptors may contribute to the proliferative response of microglial cells, as occurs in neurodegenerative disorders.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Cecilia J. Hillard, Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226-0509. E-mail: chillard{at}mcw.edu

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