Frequent low-dose THC in adolescence disrupts microglia homeostasis and disables response to microbial infection

Adolescence is a time of experimentation with cannabis. We evaluated whether adolescent exposure to the drug's psychotropic consituent, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), might persistently alter microglia function and brain immune responses to lipopolysaccaride administration. We administered THC (5 mg/kg, i.p.) once daily from postnatal day 30-44 and examined the brain transcriptome in adult animals (PND70) under basal or lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.33 mg/kg)-stimulated conditions.