Correlation Between Cannabidiol-Induced Reduction of Infarct Volume and Inflammatory Factors Expression in Ischemic Stroke Model

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies demonstrated that cannabidiol had neuroprotective property. There is some evidence about effective role of cannabidiol in reduction of ischemic damages. It has been reported that infarct size is influenced by various factors after MCAO, including inflammatory factors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cannabidiol on infarction volume and correlation of infarct size with tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) expression. METHODS: Using stereotaxic surgery, guide cannula was implanted in the right lateral ventricle. Cannabidiol (50, 100, and 200 ng/rat) was injected through ntracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) route for 5 consecutive days . Then, the rats underwent 60 minutes of right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). After 24 h reperfusion, the infarct volume in total, cortex, piriform cortex-amygdala (Pir-Amy), and striatum areas of hemisphere were assessed. The expression of inflammatory factors such as TNFR1 and NF-κB in these regions were also studied. RESULTS: The present results indicate that in the MCAO-induced cerebral ischemia, administration of cannabidiol (100 and 200 ng/rat) causes a significant reduction in infarction volume in comparison with the vehicle group. Also, there were significant correlations between decrease of regional infarct volume and TNFR1/NF-κB expression. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that cannabidiol reduced cerebral infarction possibly through diminishing TNFR1/NF-κB-induced neurotoxicity in transient focal cerebral ischemia.