TDK conference 2019

In the history of medicine, Cannabis sativa was one of the oldest herbs used by mankind. Nowadays, the medicinal products containing Cannabis are becoming more and more popular, and it can be legally purchased in many countries with (or without) a prescription. The target illnesses for this medical treatment are incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Neurodegenerative diseases are usually followed by neuroinflammation and also by the decreased vitality of the neurons. The glial cells are responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of the brain and they also play a key role in many inflammatory reactions.

In our research, we studied the effect of cannabinoid compounds in different concentrations on astrocyte-microglia co-cultures (8:1 ratio) prepared from a 1-2 days old Sprague-Dawley rat brain tissue. We tested the cell viability and IL-6 production of the culture with and without inducing inflammation using lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

In our in vitro model, we treated the cell cultures with different concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We also studied the different effects of the same concentrations after inducing inflammation with LPS. The cell viability was tested by Neutral Red and lactate-dehydrogenase assays, while IL-6 production was measured by a commercially available ELISA kit.

The results showed that the different concentrations of the THC and CBD increased the vitality of glial cells both with and without inducing inflammation with LPS. Out of all tested concentrations the 15 μM THC (in presence of LPS), and the 10 μM CBD (both in presence and absence of LPS) significantly increased the cell vitality. The LPS treated cultures showed a significant growth in the IL-6 production, however the neither of the cannabinoid compounds could not influence the production of this cytokin.

The final results showed that neuroprotective effects of cannabionid compounds are (at least partially) mediated by glial cells, therefore they might be effective in some neurodegenerative diseases. To gain more information on the effect of cannabinoids in neuroinflammation, further experiments are required with different kind of inflammatory markers, such as other interleukins, interferon and tumor necrosis factor.