Poster #042
Effects of Prenatal THC Exposure on Human Cortical Cell Diversity
Mentors: Dr. Tanzila Mukhtar, PhD; Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD
Cannabis use during pregnancy is on the rise and has been associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Despite these concerns, the molecular effects on the developing brain remain unclear. Cannabis contains two key components: THC, the psychoactive, addictive compound, and CBD, which has distinct biological effects. To study these impacts, we treated iPSC-derived cortical organoids from three cell lines (H1, 1323-4, WTC-11) with THC at differentiation week 10 for three days. Post-treatment, organoids were fixed, cryopreserved, and sectioned for immunohistochemistry. We assessed changes in protein expression using known markers including SOX2 (for radial glia), HOPX (for outer radial glia), KI67 (for proliferating cells), NEUN, CTIP2, and SATB2 (for neurons). Our preliminary data suggest that CBD exposure alters cortical cell composition, particularly affecting neural progenitor and neuronal subtypes. Our findings highlight the need for further investigation into how cannabis compounds influence human brain development at the molecular level.