Hippocampal differential expression underlying the neuroprotective effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol microdose on old mice

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant and an exogenous ligand of the endocannabinoid system. In previous studies, we demonstrated that a single microdose of THC (0.002 mg/kg, 3-4 orders of magnitude lower than the standard dose for rodents) exe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in neuroscience 2023-07, Vol.17, p.1182932-1182932
Main Authors: Shapira, Guy, Israel-Elgali, Ifat, Grad, Meitar, Avnat, Eden, Rachmany, Lital, Sarne, Yosef, Shomron, Noam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aging
Animal cognition
Animal models
Binomial distribution
Brain
Cannabis
Cognitive ability
Endocannabinoid system
Gene expression
Generalized linear models
Hippocampus
Metabolism
Morphology
neurodegenerative diseases
Neurogenesis
Neuroprotection
Neuroscience
Ontology
Polymerase chain reaction
Tetrahydrocannabinol
THC
Transcriptomes
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant and an exogenous ligand of the endocannabinoid system. In previous studies, we demonstrated that a single microdose of THC (0.002 mg/kg, 3-4 orders of magnitude lower than the standard dose for rodents) exerts distinct, long-term neuroprotection in model mice subjected to acute neurological insults. When administered to old, healthy mice, the THC microdose induced remarkable long-lasting (weeks) improvement in a wide range of cognitive functions, including significant morphological and biochemical brain alterations. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects, we analyzed the gene expression of hippocampal samples from the model mice. Samples taken 5 days after THC treatment showed significant differential expression of genes associated with neurogenesis and brain development. In samples taken 5 weeks after treatment, the transcriptional signature was shifted to that of neuronal differentiation and survival. This study demonstrated the use of hippocampal transcriptome profiling in uncovering the molecular basis of the atypical, anti-aging effects of THC microdose treatment in old mice.
ISSN:1662-4548
1662-453X
1662-453X
DOI:10.3389/fnins.2023.1182932