Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States.
Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States.
Elife. 2023 Dec 27;12:RP88795. doi: 10.7554/eLife.88795.
Cannabis, the most consumed illicit psychoactive drug in the world, is increasingly used by pregnant women. However, while cannabinoid receptors are expressed in the early embryo, the impact of phytocannabinoids exposure on early embryonic processes is lacking. Here, we leverage a stepwise in vitro differentiation system that captures the early embryonic developmental cascade to investigate the impact of exposure to the most abundant phytocannabinoid, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). We demonstrate that Δ9-THC increases the proliferation of naive mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) but not of their primed counterpart. Surprisingly, this increased proliferation, dependent on the CB1 receptor binding, is only associated with moderate transcriptomic changes. Instead, Δ9-THC capitalizes on ESCs' metabolic bivalence by increasing their glycolytic rates and anabolic capabilities. A memory of this metabolic rewiring is retained throughout differentiation to Primordial Germ Cell-Like Cells in the absence of direct exposure and is associated with an alteration of their transcriptional profile. These results represent the first in-depth molecular characterization of the impact of Δ9-THC exposure on early stages of germline development.
大麻是世界上使用最广泛的非法精神活性药物,越来越多的孕妇开始使用大麻。然而,尽管大麻素受体在早期胚胎中表达,但植物大麻素暴露对早期胚胎过程的影响尚不清楚。在这里,我们利用一个逐步的体外分化系统来捕获早期胚胎发育级联,以研究暴露于最丰富的植物大麻素Δ9-四氢大麻酚(Δ9-THC)对早期胚胎的影响。我们证明Δ9-THC 增加了原始小鼠胚胎干细胞(ESCs)的增殖,但对其已分化的对应物没有影响。令人惊讶的是,这种依赖于 CB1 受体结合的增殖仅与中度转录组变化相关。相反,Δ9-THC 通过增加其糖酵解率和合成代谢能力,利用 ESCs 的代谢双重性。在没有直接暴露的情况下,这种代谢重编程的记忆会在整个分化过程中保留下来,并与它们的转录谱的改变相关。这些结果代表了对 Δ9-THC 暴露对生殖系发育早期阶段影响的首次深入分子特征描述。