Dataset Information

Prenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone.

ABSTRACT: The increased legal availability of cannabis has led to a common misconception that it is a safe natural remedy for, among others, pregnancy-related ailments such as morning sickness. Emerging clinical evidence, however, indicates that prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) predisposes offspring to various neuropsychiatric disorders linked to aberrant dopaminergic function. Yet, our knowledge of how cannabis exposure affects the maturation of this neuromodulatory system remains limited. Here, we show that male, but not female, offspring of ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-exposed dams, a rat PCE model, exhibit extensive molecular and synaptic changes in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area, including altered excitatory-to-inhibitory balance and switched polarity of long-term synaptic plasticity. The resulting hyperdopaminergic state leads to increased behavioral sensitivity to acute THC exposure during pre-adolescence. The neurosteroid pregnenolone, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug, rescues synaptic defects and normalizes dopaminergic activity and behavior in PCE offspring, thus suggesting a therapeutic approach for offspring exposed to cannabis during pregnancy.

SUBMITTER: Frau R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6884689 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone.

Frau Roberto R Miczán Vivien V Traccis Francesco F Aroni Sonia S Pongor Csaba I CI Saba Pierluigi P Serra Valeria V Sagheddu Claudia C Fanni Silvia S Congiu Mauro M Devoto Paola P Cheer Joseph F JF Katona István I Melis Miriam M

Nature neuroscience 20191014 12

The increased legal availability of cannabis has led to a common misconception that it is a safe natural remedy for, among others, pregnancy-related ailments such as morning sickness. Emerging clinical evidence, however, indicates that prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) predisposes offspring to various neuropsychiatric disorders linked to aberrant dopaminergic function. Yet, our knowledge of how cannabis exposure affects the maturation of this neuromodulatory system remains limited. Here, we show ...[more]

PMID: 31611707

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Project description:BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive patterns of behavior. Symptoms appear in early life and persist throughout adulthood. Early social stimulation can help reverse some of the symptoms, but the biological mechanisms of these therapies are unknown. By analyzing the effects of early social stimulation on ASD-related behavior in the mouse, we aimed to identify brain structures that contribute to these behaviors.MethodsWe injected pregnant mice with 600-mg/kg valproic acid (VPA) or saline (SAL) at gestational day 12.5 and evaluated the effect of weaning their offspring in cages containing only VPA animals, only SAL animals, or mixed. We analyzed juvenile play at PD21 and performed a battery of behavioral tests in adulthood. We then used preclinical PET imaging for an unbiased analysis of the whole brain of these mice and studied the function of the piriform cortex by c-Fos immunoreactivity and HPLC.ResultsCompared to control animals, VPA-exposed animals play less as juveniles and exhibit a lower frequency of social interaction in adulthood when reared with other VPA mice. In addition, these animals were less likely to investigate social odors in the habituation/dishabituation olfactory test. However, when VPA animals were weaned with control animals, these behavioral alterations were not observed. Interestingly, repetitive behaviors and depression-related behaviors were not affected by social enrichment. We also found that VPA animals present high levels of glucose metabolism bilaterally in the piriform cortex (Pir), a region known to be involved in social behaviors. Moreover, we found alterations in the somatosensory, motor, and insular cortices. Remarkably, these effects were mostly reversed after social stimulation. To evaluate if changes in glucose metabolism in the Pir correlated with changes in neuronal activity, we measured c-Fos immunoreactivity in the Pir and found it increased in animals prenatally exposed to VPA. We further found increased dopamine turnover in the Pir. Both alterations were largely reversed by social enrichment.ConclusionsWe show that early social enrichment can specifically rescue social deficits in a mouse model of ASD. Our results identified the Pir as a structure affected by VPA-exposure and social enrichment, suggesting that it could be a key component of the social brain circuitry.

Project description:Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (?9-THC) is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. In 2015, EFSA established an acute reference dose (ARfD) of 1 ?g/kg body weight (bw) for ?9-THC and assessed acute dietary exposure from milk and dairy products. This resulted at the most 3% and 13% of the ARfD for adults and toddlers, respectively. Following the European Commission Recommendation 2016/2115 on the monitoring of the presence of ?9-THC in food and the issuing of a new mandate, EFSA assessed the acute human exposure to ?9-THC. 'Standard' food categories were used as proxies for consumption of hemp and hemp-based products. Twelve independent scenarios based on single food categories were considered and acute exposure was assessed for consumption days only for all age groups excluding infants. Occurrence data for Total-?9-THC (588 samples in total) were used for this assessment up to the highest reliable percentile for each food category. The EFSA ARfD of 1 ?g/kg bw was exceeded in the adult high consumers of most considered hemp and hemp-containing products, under the lower-bound (LB) and upper-bound (UB) scenario. At the UB, acute exposure in adult high consumers was estimated based on the highest reliable percentile of occurrence, for Hemp seeds (P95, up to 9 ?g/kg bw), Hemp oil (P95, up to 21 ?g/kg bw), Tea (Infusion) (P95, up to 208 ?g/kg bw), Breakfast cereals (P50, up to 1.3 ?g/kg bw), Pasta (Raw) (P75, up to 6.4 ?g/kg bw), Bread and rolls (P75, up to 1.3 ?g/kg bw), Bread and rolls from hemp flour (P90, up to 4.1 ?g/kg bw), Cereal bars (P50, up to 0.3 ?g/kg bw), Fine bakery wares (P75, up to 5.1 ?g/kg bw), Chocolate (Cocoa) products (P75, up to 1.1 ?g/kg bw), Energy drinks (P75, up to 0.2 ?g/kg bw), Dietary supplements (P75, up to 9.9 ?g/kg bw), Beer and beer-like beverages (P90, up to 41 ?g/kg bw). The use of proxies for the consumption of hemp and hemp-containing products, the limited number of occurrence data and the analytical limitations in the quantification of ?9-THC represent the most important sources of uncertainty. Overall, exposure estimates presented in this report are expected to represent an overestimation of acute exposure to ?9-THC in the EU.

Dataset Information

Prenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone.

Publications

Prenatal THC exposure produces a hyperdopaminergic phenotype rescued by pregnenolone.

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