Synthetic Cannabinoids are Genotoxic in Cultured Human Lymphocytes

Background: Synthetic cannabinoids are one of the most identified abused drugs nowadays. Their popularity is due to their psychoactive effects, which resemble delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol. This study investigates the genotoxic potential of three synthetic cannabinoids of indazole-passed drugs, AB-Fubinaca, AMBFubinaca, and EMB-Fubinaca (at a final concentration of 200 nM). Methods: Genotoxicity was examined using Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCEs) and Chromosomal Aberrations (CAs) assays in cultured human lymphocytes. Blood for lymphocyte cultures was obtained from healthy adult young males. Results: A significant increase in the frequency of SCEs was detected for all examined drugs (range: 5.4-6.1, p < 0.05) compared to the control group (4.70 ± 0.31). The order of synthetic cannabinoids in terms of their ability to induce SCEs was EMB-Fubinaca (6.04 ± 0.63) > AMB-Fubinaca (5.65 ± 0.6) > AB-Fubinaca (5.33 ± 0.58). None of the examined drugs induced significant changes to the frequency of CAs (p > 0.05). Additionally, there were no effects of the synthetic cannabinoids at the studied concentration on proliferation and mitotic indices. Conclusion: Synthetic cannabinoids have been found to increase the frequency of SCEs in cultured human lymphocytes. The results should be confirmed in in vivo studies using lymphocytes derived from synthetic cannabinoid users.