Anticholinergic organophosphate (OP) agents act on the diverse serine hydrolases, thereby revealing unexpected biological effects. Epidemiological studies indicate a relationship between the OP exposure and development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like symptoms, whereas no plausible mechanism for the OP-induced ADHD has been established. The present investigation employs ethyl octylphosphonofluoridate (EOPF) as an OP-probe, which is an extremely potent inhibitor of endocannabinoid (EC, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol)-hydrolyzing enzymes: that is, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). An ex vivo experiment shows that EOPF treatment decreases FAAH and MAGL activities and conversely increases EC levels in the rat brain. Subsequently, EOPF (treated intraperitoneally once at 0, 1, 2, or 3 mg/kg) clearly induces ADHD-like behaviors (in elevated plus-maze test) in both Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats. The EOPF-induced behaviors are reduced by a concomitant administration of cannabinoid receptor inverse agonist SLV-319. Accordingly, the EC system is a feasible target for OP-caused ADHD-like behaviors in adolescent rats.
Keywords: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; brain; endocannabinoid; organophosphate; spontaneously hypertensive rat.