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Exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol leads to a rise in caspase-3, morphological changes in microglial, and astrocyte reactivity in the cerebellum of rats. Toxicol Res (Camb) 2023 Dec;12(6):1077-1094

Date

12/25/2023

Pubmed ID

38145099

Pubmed Central ID

PMC10734605

DOI

10.1093/toxres/tfad098

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85183949359 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   2 Citations

Abstract

The present study aimed to elucidate the effect of 10 mg/kg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on cerebellar neuronal and glial morphology, apoptosis and inflammatory gene expression using a series of histological assays including stereology, Sholl analysis, immunofluorescence and real-time qPCR in male Wistar rats. A decrease in the number of Purkinje neurons and the thickness of the granular layer in the cerebellum was reported in THC-treated rats. Increased expression of Iba-1 and arborization of microglial processes were evidence of microgliosis and morphological changes in microglia. In addition, astrogliosis and changes in astrocyte morphology were other findings associated with THC administration. THC also led to an increase in caspase-3 positive cells and a decrease in autophagy and inflammatory gene expression such as mTOR, BECN1 and LAMP2. However, there were no significant changes in the volume of molecular layers and white matter, the spatial arrangement of granular layers and white matter, or the spatial arrangement of granular layers and white matter in the cerebellum. Taken together, our data showed both neuroprotective and neurodegenerative properties of THC in the cerebellum, which require further study in the future.

Author List

Mohammadpanah M, Farrokhi S, Sani M, Moghaddam MH, Bayat AH, Boroujeni ME, Abdollahifar MA, Fathi M, Vakili K, Nikpour F, Omran HS, Ahmadirad H, Ghorbani Z, Peyvandi AA, Aliaghaei A

Author

Hossein Salehi Omran MD Postdoctoral Researcher in the Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of Wisconsin