The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been shown to play a critical role in the regulation of alcohol intake and alcohol-related behaviors. However, there are discrepancies between studies examining the interaction of the ECS and alcohol administration due to different experimental procedures. The present study aims at clarifying the time course effects of acute alcohol consumption on the ECS in the peripheral circulatory systems and central nervous systems of the same cohort of subjects. We have closely monitored the critical indicators reflecting changes of the ECS during the entire process from alcohol absorption to its metabolization, after acute alcohol (4.5 g/kg) intake by intragastric administration, including two key endocannabinoids (arachidonoylethanolamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol) and their hydrolytic enzymes (fatty acid amide hydrolase and monoacylglycerol lipase) in blood and three brain regions, as well as a crucial and abundant receptor (cannabinoid 1 receptor) of the ECS in the three brain regions. Our results indicate that acute alcohol consumption inhibits endocannabinoid (eCB) production in the blood and in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, whereas the reverse was observed in the brain regions of the hippocampus and striatum. The variation between levels of two hydrolytic enzymes in the blood and in the three brain regions failed to reach statistical significance. After acute alcohol consumption, CB1R levels in striatum, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex showed a similar trend of increasing, while the significant changes occurred at different time points. The present findings reveal different ligand-receptor changing patterns in the blood and in different brain regions, supporting the notion that the ECS plays a vital role in acute alcohol intoxication. Additionally, the temporal effects of alcohol on key elements of the ECS of blood and different brain nuclei were different. Our investigation may lead to a deeper understanding of the effect of acute alcohol consumption on the ECS.

内源性大麻素系统 (ECS) 已被证明在调节酒精摄入和酒精相关行为中起着关键作用。然而，由于不同的实验程序，检查 ECS 和酒精管理相互作用的研究之间存在差异。本研究旨在阐明急性饮酒对同一队列受试者外周循环系统和中枢神经系统 ECS 的时间过程影响。我们密切监测反映ECS变化的关键指标，从酒精吸收到代谢，急性酒精（4.5g/kg）灌胃后，包括血液和三个大脑区域中的两种关键内源性大麻素（花生四烯酰乙醇酰胺和 2-花生四烯酰甘油）及其水解酶（脂肪酸酰胺水解酶和单酰基甘油脂肪酶），以及三个脑区中 ECS 的关键和丰富的受体（大麻素 1 受体）大脑区域。我们的结果表明，急性饮酒会抑制血液和大脑前额叶皮层中内源性大麻素 (eCB) 的产生，而在海马和纹状体的大脑区域中观察到相反的情况。血液中和三个大脑区域中两种水解酶水平之间的差异未能达到统计显着性。急性饮酒后，纹状体、海马体和前额叶皮层的 CB1R 水平也呈类似上升趋势，而显着的变化发生在不同的时间点。目前的研究结果揭示了血液和不同大脑区域中不同的配体受体变化模式，支持了 ECS 在急性酒精中毒中起着至关重要的作用的观点。此外，酒精对血液和不同脑核的 ECS 关键元素的时间影响不同。我们的调查可能有助于更深入地了解急性饮酒对 ECS 的影响。