INHIBITION BY 2-ARACHIDONOYLGLYCEROL, A NOVEL TYPE OF POSSIBLE NEUROMODULATOR, OF THE DEPOLARIZATION-INDUCED INCREASE IN INTRACELLULAR FREECALCIUM IN NEUROBLASTOMA X GLIOMA HYBRID NG108-15 CELLS

2-Arachidonoylglycerol was found to inhibit the depolarization-induced increase in [Ca2+](i) in NG108-15 cells differentiated with prostagla ndin E-1 and theophylline in a dose-dependent manner. Such an effect a ppears to be rather specific to polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing monoacylglycerols such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol. Neither 2-palmitoylg lycerol nor free arachidonic acid exhibited appreciable inhibitory act ivity. These observations raise the possibility that 2-arachidonoylgly cerol attenuates the increase in [Ca2+](i), thereby modulating several neural functions in this type of cell. (C) 1997 Academic Press.