Differential immunologic modulatory effects of tetrahydrocannabinol as a function of age

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the major psychoactive component of marijuana, differentially modulates the immune response of lymphoid cells from young and old mice. This effect was previously shown when cells from mice of different ages were treated with THC in vitro. In the present study THC was given in vivo to mice of different ages. Lymphoid cells from the young and old mice had different immunologic potential in terms of ability to produce cytokines following stimulation with either Con A or anti-CD3 antibody. IL-4 and IL-10 production was consistently up-regulated in spleen cell cultures from the older animals. In addition, in vivo administration of THC up-regulated the proliferative response of lymphoid cells from young adult mice. Such enhancement was not evident for cells from older animals. Although the proliferative response of spleen cells in the old mice tended to be suppressed, statistical significance was not evident possibly because of marked variation of the responses of cells from the older mice. Since marijuana is used by persons of a wide range of ages, aging should be an important variable that must be considered when assessing the immunomodilatory effect of this drug.