Science, Vol 204, Issue 4390, 325-327
Copyright © 1979 by American Association for the Advancement of Science
Inhibition of gonadotropin by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol:mediation by steroid receptors?
RG Smith,
NF Besch,
PK Besch,
and
CG Smith
Competition assays for estradiol receptors in cytosol preparations of uteri from rhesus monkeys and humans showed that delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) does not compete with estradiol for intracellular estrogen recptors. Although isotopically labeled THC bound to macromolecules in uterine cytosol from the rhesus monkey, the binding was not displaced by unlabeled THC, diethylstilbestrol, estradiol, progesterone, cortisol, or 5 alpha-dihydrostestosterone. Scatchard analyses indicated that high-affinity saturable binding of THC to cytosol did not occur. Thus the inhibitory effect of THC on gonadotropin and steroid secretion in primates is not mediated by the interaction of THC with intracellular steroid hormone receptors.
