PRIMARY STUDY

Cannabis use is associated with potentially heritable widespread changes in autism candidate gene DLGAP2 DNA methylation in sperm

Key Findings:  The authors successfully validated the differential methylation present in DLGAP2 for nine CpG sites located in intron seven using quantitative bisulphite pyrosequencing. Intron 7 DNA methylation and DLGAP2 expression in human conceptal brain tissue were inversely correlated. Adult male rats exposed to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) showed differential DNA methylation at Dlgap2 in sperm, as did the nucleus accumbens of rats whose fathers were exposed to THC prior to conception.