Resident Astrocytes can Limit Injury to Developing Hippocampal Neurons upon THC Exposure.
Neurochemical Research April 1, 2023 Maria Krassnitzer, Brooke Boisvert, Johannes Beiersdorf et al.
Long-term postnatal exposure to THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, causes hippocampal astrocytes to accumulate in specific regions of the CA1 subfield that contain neurons especially sensitive to stressors. This altered distribution does not depend on cell proliferation, suggesting resident astrocytes gather to protect pyramidal neurons and their extensions from damage. In vitro experiments confirm that astrocytes physically reduce death of primary hippocampal neurons exposed to THC at concentrations above 5 µM. However, astrocytes themselves are affected by a reduced metabolic readiness to stressors, reflected by downregulation of mitochondrial proteins. Thus, astrocytes exert protective functions on local neurons during THC exposure even though their mitochondrial electron transport chain is disrupted.