Functional Interactions between Endogenous Cannabinoid and Opioid Systems: Focus on Alcohol, Genetics and Drug-Addicted Behaviors

Although the first studies regarding the endogenous opioid system and addiction were published during the 1940s, addiction and cannabinoids were not addressed until the 1970s. Currently, the number of opioid addiction studies indexed in PubMed-Medline is 16 times greater than the number of cannabinoid addiction reports. More recently, functional interactions have been demonstrated between the endogenous cannabinoid and opioid systems. For example, the cannabinoid brain receptor type 1 (CB1) and mu opioid receptor type 1 (MOR1) co-localize in the same presynaptic nerve terminals and signal through a common receptor-mediated G-protein pathway. Here, we review a great variety of behavioral models of drug addiction and alcohol-related behaviors. We also include data providing clear evidence that activation of the cannabinoid and opioid endogenous systems via WIN 55,512-2 (0.4-10 mg/kg) and morphine (1.0-10 mg/kg), respectively, produces similar levels of relapse to alcohol in operant alcohol self-administration tasks. Finally, we discuss genetic studies that reveal significant associations between polymorphisms in MOR1 and CB1 receptors and drug addiction. For example, the SNP A118G, which changes the amino acid aspartate to asparagine in the MOR1 gene, is highly associated with altered opioid system function. The presence of a microsatellite polymorphism of an (AAT)n triplet near the CB1 gene is associated with drug addiction phenotypes. But, studies exploring haplotypes with regard to both systems, however, are lacking.