Figure 1.

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) attenuates staphylococcal enterotoxin-B, SEB-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in mice. For in vivo studies, SEB-mediated ARDS was induced in C3H/HeJ mice, then the mice were treated with either vehicle (Veh) or THC, as described in Methods. For in vitro studies, epithelial cell type II was cultured, and the resistance was measured after adding splenocytes, which were activated with SEB + Veh or SEB+THC. (A): Representative hematoxylin and eosin, H&E images of lung tissue sections. (B): ECIS measurement of epithelial resistance, presented resistance is normalized to a pre-treatment time point for comparison of THC effect on barrier function. (C,D): ELISA quantification of broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for cytokines (C) and chemokines (D). Vertical bars show data from 5 mice with mean+/-SEM. Statistical significance is depicted as * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, and **** p < 0.0001 between the groups.