Acute exposure to vaporized cannabidiol remodels coding and noncoding transcriptomes in the mouse striatum

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Molecular Biology
• Genomics

Background:

• Cannabidiol (CBD) consumption via vaping is rising, yet its acute molecular effects on the striatum are unclear.
• The striatum is crucial for motor control and reward, and is sensitive to cannabinoid actions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential expression of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the mouse striatum following acute exposure to vaporized CBD.
• To construct mRNA-lncRNA co-expression networks and identify regulatory hubs and potential biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• Acute exposure of male ICR mice to vaporized CBD oil (50 mg).
• Total RNA sequencing of striatal tissues collected 24 hours post-exposure.
• Bioinformatic analyses including differential expression, gene ontology (GO), KEGG pathway analysis, mRNA-lncRNA co-expression network construction, qRT-PCR validation, and ROC analysis.

Main Results:

• CBD exposure altered the expression of 931 mRNAs and 229 lncRNAs.
• Bidirectional regulation of neural development and synaptic transmission pathways observed, with upregulation of ion transport genes and downregulation of excitatory synaptic and dopaminergic pathway genes.
• Identification of key regulatory lncRNAs and mRNA-lncRNA networks, along with potential biomarker candidates.

Conclusions:

• Acute CBD vaping induces significant transcriptomic changes in the striatum.
• CBD vaping appears to enhance ion transport and inhibitory signaling while suppressing excitatory and dopaminergic pathways in the striatum.
• This study provides the first comprehensive transcriptome profile of coding and noncoding RNAs in the striatum after vaporized CBD exposure.