EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL ON REPRODUCTIVE, ENDOCRINE AND IMMUNE PARAMETERS OF MALE AND FEMALE RAT OFFSPRING

The effects of prenatal THC administration, given during the third wee k of gestation in rats, on the reproductive, endocrine and immune syst ems of the adult offspring were examined. THC treatment blocked the su rge of testosterone which occurs in the male rat fetus on gestation da y 18. Moreover, when copulatory parameters were measured in adult male offspring, males that had been exposed to THC in utero exhibited an i ncreased latency to mount (THC: 245 +/- 49 vs vehicle: 99 +/- 12 sec) and none of the males ejaculated. Female rats exposed to THC in utero, exhibited an increased incidence of irregular estrous cycles and the number of females exhibiting lordosis behavior was reduced when compar ed to vehicle controls. Hormone analyses revealed that prolactin level s were significantly lower in the THC- vs vehicle-exposed male (THC: 5 .2 +/- 0.4 vs vehicle: 0.4 +/- 0.6 ng/ml) and female offspring (THC: 5 .7 +/- 0.3 vs vehicle: 12.2 +/- 1.8 ng/ml). However, there were no sig nificant differences in basal plasma LH levels or in testicular weight s of the male offspring. Thymus weight and total number of thymocytes were significantly higher in THC-exposed male and female rats when com pared to vehicle controls. Together, these results indicate that mater nal THC exposure has long-lasting effects on reproductive, endocrine a nd immune parameters of both male and female rat offspring.