high and dry. Disrupt endocannabinoid receptors of a mouse embryo strands in the oviducts.
a new study in mice shows that a chemical the body related to a compound in marijuana may complicate pregnancy if present in excessive amounts. The results could have implications for pregnant women, who can put their embryos at risk by getting high.
The psychoactive compound in marijuana, THC, is similar to some of the body's own signaling molecules, called endocannabinoids. These molecules mediate their effects by binding to two proteins, called CB1 and CB2. The exact role of these endocannabinoids in reproduction is uncertain, but high levels are associated with miscarriage in women.
To clarify this role, a team led by Sudhansu Dey, a biologist with the reproduction and development at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, examined mice lacking CB1 and CB2 gene. Reporting in September 19 issue of Nature Medicine , the team discovered that embryos are often stuck in the oviducts of these mice and can not reach the uterus. The same problem occurred when the team injected booster injections of a synthetic endocannabinoid. Because the CB1 protein is found only in the muscles of the oviducts, the researchers conclude that endocannabinoids help coordinate the transport of embryos in the womb.
The study shows that the transport of the embryo depends chemical "fine tuning," said Vincenzo Di Marzo, a reproduction biologist at the National Institute of Molecular Biology in Naples, Italy. Dey warns that women who use marijuana may be at risk of ectopic pregnancy - the development of an embryo attached to the fallopian tube rather than the uterus - which can threaten the life of the mother and child, but Di. Marzo cautions that "the general picture in humans could be radically different," and he has not known whether THC reached dangerous levels in the fallopian tubes of women who use marijuana.
Related Sites
homepage of Sudhansu Dey
research group endocannabinoid Vincenzo Di Marzo
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