Figure 2. Mesolimbic dopamine D2R gene is vulnerable to prenatal cannabis exposure.
Prenatal cannabis affects dopamine D2R gene expression in the nucleus accumbens of the human midgestational fetus exposed to cannabis in utero. The effects are mimicked in the prenatal THC animal model studied at postnatal day 2 (PND2; comparable to the midgestation human fetal period) and the early developmental disturbances on the Drd2 mRNA expression persist into adulthood (PND62) and are mediated by epigenetic modifications at the Drd2 promoter. Data modified from (Dinieri et al., 2011) 2meH3K9, di-methylation of lysine 9 on histone H3; 3meH3K4, tri-methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3; KB, kilobases; RNA Poly II, RNA Polymerase II; TSS, transcription start site. Values are expressed as mean ± SEM. *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001; ****, p < 0.0001 vs control subjects. Black bars, THC exposed group; white bars, vehicle-exposed group; kb, kilobases; TSS, transcription start site.