Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies

Abstract Background There is growing evidence of the contribution of microtubule dynamics to dendritic spine changes, synaptic plasticity, axonal transportation, and cell polarity. Besides, one of the well-studied effects of Cannabis on human behavior is memory disability. As Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol...

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Main Authors: Mina Mohammadkhani, Mostafa Jarah, Dariush Gholami, Gholamhossein Riazi, Hadi Rezazadeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-025-00957-5
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author Mina Mohammadkhani
Mostafa Jarah
Dariush Gholami
Gholamhossein Riazi
Hadi Rezazadeh
author_facet Mina Mohammadkhani
Mostafa Jarah
Dariush Gholami
Gholamhossein Riazi
Hadi Rezazadeh
author_sort Mina Mohammadkhani
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background There is growing evidence of the contribution of microtubule dynamics to dendritic spine changes, synaptic plasticity, axonal transportation, and cell polarity. Besides, one of the well-studied effects of Cannabis on human behavior is memory disability. As Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) is the most pivotal chemical of Cannabis, we investigated the effect of Δ9-THC on microtubule dynamicity and the structural study of tubulin (microtubule monomer). Results Our results show that Δ9-THC changes microtubule dynamicity compared to the control group. The turbidity assay results demonstrated that Δ9-THC reduces microtubule polymerization in a concentration-dependent manner. Circular Dichroism spectroscopy also studied the structural changes of the purified tubulin, which revealed significant changes in the secondary structure of the tubulin. Furthermore, Silico studies predicted one binding site for Δ9-THC on β-tubulin. Conclusions We concluded that Δ9-THC could reduce the microtubule’s stability, which may conversely affect brain function by microtubule dynamic changes caused by secondary structural changes of tubulin and preventing tubulin-tubulin interaction.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1471-2202
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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series BMC Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-0be9de29ea454b8c9c4f4265fd5607ea2025-08-20T03:42:26ZengBMCBMC Neuroscience1471-22022025-07-0126111110.1186/s12868-025-00957-5Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studiesMina Mohammadkhani0Mostafa Jarah1Dariush Gholami2Gholamhossein Riazi3Hadi Rezazadeh4Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of TehranDepartment of Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of TehranDepartment of Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology, Amol University of Special Modern TechnologiesDepartment of Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of TehranFaculty of Engineering Technology, Amol University of Special Modern TechnologiesAbstract Background There is growing evidence of the contribution of microtubule dynamics to dendritic spine changes, synaptic plasticity, axonal transportation, and cell polarity. Besides, one of the well-studied effects of Cannabis on human behavior is memory disability. As Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) is the most pivotal chemical of Cannabis, we investigated the effect of Δ9-THC on microtubule dynamicity and the structural study of tubulin (microtubule monomer). Results Our results show that Δ9-THC changes microtubule dynamicity compared to the control group. The turbidity assay results demonstrated that Δ9-THC reduces microtubule polymerization in a concentration-dependent manner. Circular Dichroism spectroscopy also studied the structural changes of the purified tubulin, which revealed significant changes in the secondary structure of the tubulin. Furthermore, Silico studies predicted one binding site for Δ9-THC on β-tubulin. Conclusions We concluded that Δ9-THC could reduce the microtubule’s stability, which may conversely affect brain function by microtubule dynamic changes caused by secondary structural changes of tubulin and preventing tubulin-tubulin interaction.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-025-00957-5Microtubule dynamicityΔ9-tetrahydrocannabinolTubulin structure
spellingShingle Mina Mohammadkhani
Mostafa Jarah
Dariush Gholami
Gholamhossein Riazi
Hadi Rezazadeh
Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
BMC Neuroscience
Microtubule dynamicity
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Tubulin structure
title Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
title_full Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
title_fullStr Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
title_full_unstemmed Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
title_short Structural changes of tubulin by interacting with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: in-vitro and theoretical studies
title_sort structural changes of tubulin by interacting with δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol in vitro and theoretical studies
topic Microtubule dynamicity
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Tubulin structure
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-025-00957-5
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AT gholamhosseinriazi structuralchangesoftubulinbyinteractingwithd9tetrahydrocannabinolinvitroandtheoreticalstudies
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