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Cross-generational THC exposure alters the developmental sensitivity of ventral and dorsal striatal gene expression in male and female offspring.

Henrietta Szutorisz, Gabor Egervari, James Sperry, Jenna M Carter, Yasmin L. Hurd

Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2016.05.005 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Preclinical animal study Peer reviewed
Population Male and female offspring of parents exposed to THC during adolescence
Intervention Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
Topics Cannabis Neuroplasticity
Keywords Cross-generational transmission Development Gender Striatum
Key points Parental adolescent THC exposure was associated with cross-generational alterations in striatal gene expression related to synaptic plasticity in both male and female offspring, with a shift from ventral striatum in adolescence to dorsal striatum in adulthood. Females showed stronger gene-gene correlations and locomotor disturbances not evident in males, indicating sex-specific cross-generational consequences.

Abstract

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica) is the illicit drug most frequently abused by young men and women. The growing use of the drug has raised attention not only on the impact of direct exposure on the developing brain and behavior later in life, but also on potential cross-generational consequences. Our previous work demonstrated that adolescent exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, affects reward-related behavior and striatal gene expression in male offspring that were unexposed to the drug during their own lifespan. The significant sex differences documented for most addiction and psychiatric disorders suggest that understanding the perturbation of the brain in the two sexes due to cannabis could provide insights about neuronal systems underpinning vulnerability to psychiatric illnesses. In the current study, we expanded our previous observations in males by analyzing the female brain for specific aberrations associated with cross-generational THC exposure. Based on the impact of adolescent development on subsequent adult behavioral pathology, we examined molecular patterns during both adolescence and adulthood. The results revealed a switch from the ventral striatum during adolescence to the dorsal striatum in adulthood in alterations of gene expression related to synaptic plasticity in both sexes. Females, however, exhibited stronger correlation patterns between genes and also showed locomotor disturbances not evident in males. Overall, the findings demonstrate cross-generational consequences of parental THC exposure in both male and female offspring.

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