Hydrolysis of Anandamide and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Ethanolamide in Mouse Splenocytes

M. Yu. Bobrov¹, V. P. Shevchenko², I. A. Yudushkin¹, S. I. Rogov¹, M. N. Remov¹, E. V. Fomina-Ageeva¹, N. M. Gretskaya¹, I. Yu. Nagaev², D. V. Kuklev³, and V. V. Bezuglov^1*

¹Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow, 117871 Russia; fax: (7-095) 335-7103; E-mail: vvbez@oxylipin.ibch.ru

²Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, pl. Akademika Kurchatova 46, Moscow, 123182 Russia; fax: (7-095) 196-0221; E-mail: nagaev@img.ras.ru

³Pacific Oceanography and Fishery Institute (TINRO-Center), pr. Shevchenko 4, Vladivostok, 690600 Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received July 20, 1999

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The hydrolysis of anandamide has been studied in mouse splenocytes using tritiated anandamide analogs labeled in the acyl- or ethanolamide parts of the molecule. [³H]Anandamide undergoes rapid (t_1/2 = 2.5 min) uptake and hydrolysis, yielding ethanolamine and arachidonic acid. The anandamide hydrolysis in splenocytes is sensitive to inhibition by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and it is assumed that the observed activity is due to fatty acid amide hydrolase, which inactivates anandamide in central and peripheral tissues. Eicosapentaenoic acid ethanolamide and the 15-hydroxy-derivative of anandamide are shown to be amidohydrolase substrates as well. The fatty acids derived from hydrolytic cleavage of acylethanolamines undergo rapid oxidation by splenocyte lipoxygenase, yielding the corresponding 12-hydroxy-derivatives. Oxygenated ethanolamide derivatives were not found. The data suggest that polyenoic fatty acid ethanolamides are metabolic precursors of eicosanoids in splenocytes and that amide bond hydrolysis is the key point in switching of biological activity spectra between endocannabinoids and oxylipins.

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KEY WORDS: anandamide, fatty acid amides, transport, fatty acid amide hydrolase, lipoxygenase, polyenoic fatty acids, endocannabinoids

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