Impact of SIV and THC on jejunum microbiome changes
The goal of the project is to determine the effect of long-term low-dose delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration on the jejunum microbiome in SIV-infected rhesus macaques on suppressive anti-retroviral therapy (ART). THC or Vehicle was initiated 1 month before SIV infection and continued until 6 months post infection. ART was initiated 1 month post SIV infection. Jejunum resections (~5 cm) were collected once before initiating THC and SIV infection and again at necropsy to collect contents for shotgun metagenomics sequencing to assess the effects of SIV and THC on the microbiome.