Numerous analogs of arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA) potentiate its biological activity. This potentiation is ascribed either to inhibition of AEA reuptake into neurons, or inhibition of fatty amide acyl hydrolase (FAAH) within the neurons. VDM11 is an AEA transport inhibitor with essentially no activity on either the central cannabinoid receptor (CB1), peripheral cannabinoid receptor (CB2), or the vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1). However, VDM11 inhibits FAAH and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) and may act as an alternative FAAH substrate. At a concentration of 3 μM, VDM11, like AM404, inhibits glutamergic synaptic transmission between hippocampal neurons. The mechanism of this effect may be a direct action on sodium channels. Thus, the use of anandamide analogs as uptake inhibitors and interpretation of the results must be undertaken with care.
