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Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are novel psychoactive substances that are easily acquired, widely abused as a substitute for cannabis, and associated with cardiotoxicity and seizures. Although the structural bases of these compounds are scaffolds with known affinity and efficacy at the human cannabinoid type-1 receptor (hCB 1 ), upon ingestion or inhalation they can be metabolized to multiple chemical entities of unknown pharmacological activity. A large proportion of these metabolites are hydroxylated on the pentyl chain, a key substituent that determines receptor affinity and selectivity. Thus, the pharmacology of SC metabolites may be an important component in understanding the in vivo effects of SCs. We examined nine SCs (AB-PINACA, 5F-AB-PINACA, ADB/MDMB-PINACA, 5F-ADB, 5F-CUMYL-PINACA, AMB-PINACA, 5F-AMB, APINACA, and 5F-APINACA) and their hydroxypentyl (either 4-OH or 5-OH) metabolites in [ 3 H]CP55,940 receptor binding and the [ 35 S]GTP γ S functional assay to determine the extent to which these metabolites retain activity at cannabinoid receptors. All of the SCs tested exhibited high affinity (<10 nM) and efficacy for hCB 1 and hCB 2 The majority of the hydroxypentyl metabolites retained full efficacy at hCB 1 and hCB 2 , albeit with reduced affinity and potency, and exhibited greater binding selectivity for hCB 2 These data suggest that phase I metabolites may be contributing to the in vivo pharmacology and toxicology of abused SCs. Considering this and previous reports demonstrating that metabolites retain efficacy at the hCB 1 receptor, the full pharmacokinetic profiles of the parent compounds and their metabolites need to be considered in terms of the pharmacological effects and time course associated with these drugs., (Copyright © 2019 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.)

Allosteric modulation of cannabinoid type-1 receptors (CB 1 ) is a novel means through which signaling bias may be exerted. Org27569 remains the most-characterized CB 1 allosteric modulator yet there are conflicting reports regarding its effects on extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. We conducted a systematic evaluation of Org27569 signaling through ERK. We have found that Org27569 is an antagonist of human CB 1 (hCB 1 ) mediated ERK signaling in HEK293 cells where it fully blocks CP55,940- but does not completely inhibit THC- and 2-AG-stimulated ERK1/2 activation. In hCB 1 HEK293 cells, CP55,940 (1 μM) treatment produced a significant increase in puncta at 20, 40, 60, and 120 min, consistent with receptor internalization. Org27569 (10 μM) co-treatment prevented internalization at each time point and alone had no effect. These data demonstrate that Org27569 can block the CP55,940- induced internalization of CB 1 receptors. Org27569 reduced basal ERK phosphorylation in hCB 1 HEK293 cells but not in untransfected cells, demonstrating that Org27569 acts via the CB 1 receptor to produce this effect. Furthermore, inverse agonism was through inhibition of G i/o as overnight treatment with pertussis toxin abated this response. Finally, to delineate Org27569's effects on ERK1/2 in subcellular compartments, subcellular fractionation was performed; Org27569 produced a significant decrease in ERK phosphorylation in the nuclear-enriched and cytosolic fractions. Altogether, these data are consistent with previous studies demonstrating that CB 1 -mediated ERK1/2 activation is G i/o -dependent and that Org27569 is an inverse agonist of CB 1 receptors. To our knowledge this is the first reported demonstration of inverse agonism of ERK signaling by Org27569., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: Authors have no conflict of interest concerning this study and have nothing to declare.