Vassall Marlee, Chakraborty Sourav, Feng Yashi, Faheem Mehwish, Wang Xuegeng, Bhandari Ramji Kumar
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA.
Institute of Modern Aquaculture Science and Engineering, College of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
J Xenobiot. 2023 May 30;13(2):237-251. doi: 10.3390/jox13020018.
With the legalization of marijuana smoking in several states of the United States and many other countries for medicinal and recreational use, the possibility of its release into the environment cannot be overruled. Currently, the environmental levels of marijuana metabolites are not monitored on a regular basis, and their stability in the environment is not well understood. Laboratory studies have linked delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC) exposure with behavioral abnormalities in some fish species; however, their effects on endocrine organs are less understood. To understand the effects of THC on the brain and gonads, we exposed adult medaka (, Hd-rR strain, both male and female) to 50 ug/L THC for 21 days spanning their complete spermatogenic and oogenic cycles. We examined transcriptional responses of the brain and gonads (testis and ovary) to Δ-THC, particularly molecular pathways associated with behavioral and reproductive functions. The Δ-THC effects were more profound in males than females. The Δ-THC-induced differential expression pattern of genes in the brain of the male fish suggested pathways to neurodegenerative diseases and pathways to reproductive impairment in the testis. The present results provide insights into endocrine disruption in aquatic organisms due to environmental cannabinoid compounds.
随着美国多个州以及许多其他国家将吸食大麻合法化用于医疗和娱乐用途，大麻释放到环境中的可能性不容忽视。目前，大麻代谢物的环境水平并未定期监测，而且它们在环境中的稳定性也尚未得到充分了解。实验室研究已将某些鱼类接触δ9 - 四氢大麻酚（Δ-THC）与行为异常联系起来；然而，其对内分泌器官的影响了解较少。为了了解THC对大脑和性腺的影响，我们将成年青鳉（Hd-rR品系，雌雄皆有）暴露于50微克/升的THC中21天，涵盖其完整的生精和生卵周期。我们研究了大脑和性腺（睾丸和卵巢）对Δ-THC的转录反应，特别是与行为和生殖功能相关的分子途径。Δ-THC对雄性的影响比对雌性更为显著。Δ-THC诱导的雄鱼大脑中基因差异表达模式提示了神经退行性疾病的途径以及睾丸生殖功能受损的途径。本研究结果为环境中大麻素化合物导致水生生物内分泌干扰提供了见解。
