An escalating number of fatalities resulting from accidental opioid overdoses typically attributed to respiratory depression continue to define the opioid epidemic. Opioid respiratory depression results from a decrease in reflexive inspiration within the preBötzinger complex in the brainstem.
Objective:
Cannabinoid receptor agonism is reported to enhance opioid analgesia, yet whether cannabinoids enhance or inhibit opioid-induced respiratory depression is unknown.
Methods:
Studies herein sought to define the roles of cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1R) and cannabinoid-2 receptor (CB2R) on respiratory depression using selective agonists alone and in combination with morphine in male mice.
Results:
Using whole body plethysmography, the nonselective CB1R and CB2R agonist (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and the CB1R synthetic cannabinoid, AM356, induced respiratory depression, whereas the well-published selective CB2 agonist, JWH 133, and the novel CB2 agonist (AM2301) did not. Moreover, a selective CB2R agonist (AM2301) significantly attenuated morphine sulfate-induced respiratory depression.
Conclusion:
Notably, findings suggest that attenuation of opioid-induced respiratory depression relies on CB2R activation, supporting selective CB2R agonism as an opioid adjunct therapy.
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