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Coutens B, Ingram SL. Key differences in regulation of opioid receptors localized to presynaptic terminals compared to somas: Relevance for novel therapeutics. Neuropharmacology 2023; 226:109408. [PMID: 36584882 PMCID: PMC9898207 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Opioid receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that regulate activity within peripheral, subcortical and cortical circuits involved in pain, reward, and aversion processing. Opioid receptors are expressed in both presynaptic terminals where they inhibit neurotransmitter release and postsynaptic locations where they act to hyperpolarize neurons and reduce activity. Agonist activation of postsynaptic receptors at the plasma membrane signal via ion channels or cytoplasmic second messengers. Agonist binding initiates regulatory processes that include phosphorylation by G protein receptor kinases (GRKs) and recruitment of beta-arrestins that desensitize and internalize the receptors. Opioid receptors also couple to effectors from endosomes activating intracellular enzymes and kinases. In contrast to postsynaptic opioid receptors, receptors localized to presynaptic terminals are resistant to desensitization such that there is no loss of signaling in the continuous presence of opioids over the same time scale. Thus, the balance of opioid signaling in circuits expressing pre- and postsynaptic opioid receptors is shifted toward inhibition of presynaptic neurotransmitter release during continuous opioid exposure. The functional implication of this shift is not often acknowledged in behavioral studies. This review covers what is currently understood about regulation of opioid/nociceptin receptors, with an emphasis on opioid receptor signaling in pain and reward circuits. Importantly, the review covers regulation of presynaptic receptors and the critical gaps in understanding this area, as well as the opportunities to further understand opioid signaling in brain circuits. This article is part of the Special Issue on "Opioid-induced changes in addiction and pain circuits".
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Affiliation(s)
- Basile Coutens
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Susan L Ingram
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
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2
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Reeves KC, Shah N, Muñoz B, Atwood BK. Opioid Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neurotransmission in the Brain. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:919773. [PMID: 35782382 PMCID: PMC9242007 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.919773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Opioids mediate their effects via opioid receptors: mu, delta, and kappa. At the neuronal level, opioid receptors are generally inhibitory, presynaptically reducing neurotransmitter release and postsynaptically hyperpolarizing neurons. However, opioid receptor-mediated regulation of neuronal function and synaptic transmission is not uniform in expression pattern and mechanism across the brain. The localization of receptors within specific cell types and neurocircuits determine the effects that endogenous and exogenous opioids have on brain function. In this review we will explore the similarities and differences in opioid receptor-mediated regulation of neurotransmission across different brain regions. We discuss how future studies can consider potential cell-type, regional, and neural pathway-specific effects of opioid receptors in order to better understand how opioid receptors modulate brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlin C. Reeves
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
| | - Nikhil Shah
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Braulio Muñoz
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
| | - Brady K. Atwood
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States
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5
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Gendron L, Cahill CM, von Zastrow M, Schiller PW, Pineyro G. Molecular Pharmacology of δ-Opioid Receptors. Pharmacol Rev 2017; 68:631-700. [PMID: 27343248 DOI: 10.1124/pr.114.008979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Opioids are among the most effective analgesics available and are the first choice in the treatment of acute severe pain. However, partial efficacy, a tendency to produce tolerance, and a host of ill-tolerated side effects make clinically available opioids less effective in the management of chronic pain syndromes. Given that most therapeutic opioids produce their actions via µ-opioid receptors (MOPrs), other targets are constantly being explored, among which δ-opioid receptors (DOPrs) are being increasingly considered as promising alternatives. This review addresses DOPrs from the perspective of cellular and molecular determinants of their pharmacological diversity. Thus, DOPr ligands are examined in terms of structural and functional variety, DOPrs' capacity to engage a multiplicity of canonical and noncanonical G protein-dependent responses is surveyed, and evidence supporting ligand-specific signaling and regulation is analyzed. Pharmacological DOPr subtypes are examined in light of the ability of DOPr to organize into multimeric arrays and to adopt multiple active conformations as well as differences in ligand kinetics. Current knowledge on DOPr targeting to the membrane is examined as a means of understanding how these receptors are especially active in chronic pain management. Insight into cellular and molecular mechanisms of pharmacological diversity should guide the rational design of more effective, longer-lasting, and better-tolerated opioid analgesics for chronic pain management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Gendron
- Département de Pharmacologie-Physiologie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Centre d'excellence en neurosciences de l'Univeristé de Sherbrooke, and Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Québec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care and Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California (C.M.C.); Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (C.M.C.); Departments of Psychiatry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California (M.v.Z.); Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Peptide Research, Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P.W.S.); and Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal and Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (G.P.)
| | - Catherine M Cahill
- Département de Pharmacologie-Physiologie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Centre d'excellence en neurosciences de l'Univeristé de Sherbrooke, and Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Québec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care and Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California (C.M.C.); Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (C.M.C.); Departments of Psychiatry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California (M.v.Z.); Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Peptide Research, Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P.W.S.); and Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal and Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (G.P.)
| | - Mark von Zastrow
- Département de Pharmacologie-Physiologie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Centre d'excellence en neurosciences de l'Univeristé de Sherbrooke, and Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Québec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care and Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California (C.M.C.); Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (C.M.C.); Departments of Psychiatry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California (M.v.Z.); Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Peptide Research, Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P.W.S.); and Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal and Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (G.P.)
| | - Peter W Schiller
- Département de Pharmacologie-Physiologie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Centre d'excellence en neurosciences de l'Univeristé de Sherbrooke, and Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Québec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care and Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California (C.M.C.); Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (C.M.C.); Departments of Psychiatry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California (M.v.Z.); Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Peptide Research, Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P.W.S.); and Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal and Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (G.P.)
| | - Graciela Pineyro
- Département de Pharmacologie-Physiologie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Centre d'excellence en neurosciences de l'Univeristé de Sherbrooke, and Institut de Pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Québec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (L.G.); Departments of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care and Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California (C.M.C.); Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (C.M.C.); Departments of Psychiatry and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California (M.v.Z.); Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Peptide Research, Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (P.W.S.); and Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montréal and Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (G.P.)
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Gaveriaux-Ruff C, Nozaki C, Nadal X, Hever XC, Weibel R, Matifas A, Reiss D, Filliol D, Nassar MA, Wood JN, Maldonado R, Kieffer BL. Genetic ablation of delta opioid receptors in nociceptive sensory neurons increases chronic pain and abolishes opioid analgesia. Pain 2011; 152:1238-1248. [PMID: 21295407 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.12.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2010] [Revised: 12/17/2010] [Accepted: 12/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Opioid receptors are major actors in pain control and are broadly distributed throughout the nervous system. A major challenge in pain research is the identification of key opioid receptor populations within nociceptive pathways, which control physiological and pathological pain. In particular, the respective contribution of peripheral vs. central receptors remains unclear, and it has not been addressed by genetic approaches. To investigate the contribution of peripheral delta opioid receptors in pain control, we created conditional knockout mice where delta receptors are deleted specifically in peripheral Na(V)1.8-positive primary nociceptive neurons. Mutant mice showed normal pain responses to acute heat and to mechanical and formalin stimuli. In contrast, mutant animals showed a remarkable increase of mechanical allodynia under both inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund adjuvant and neuropathic pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation. In these 2 models, heat hyperalgesia was virtually unchanged. SNC80, a delta agonist administered either systemically (complete Freund adjuvant and sciatic nerve ligation) or into a paw (sciatic nerve ligation), reduced thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in control mice. However, these analgesic effects were absent in conditional mutant mice. In conclusion, this study reveals the existence of delta opioid receptor-mediated mechanisms, which operate at the level of Na(V)1.8-positive nociceptive neurons. Delta receptors in these neurons tonically inhibit mechanical hypersensitivity in both inflammatory and neuropathic pain, and they are essential to mediate delta opioid analgesia under conditions of persistent pain. This delta receptor population represents a feasible therapeutic target to alleviate chronic pain while avoiding adverse central effects. The conditional knockout of delta-opioid receptor in primary afferent Na(V)1.8 neurons augmented mechanical allodynia in persistent pain models and abolished delta opioid analgesia in these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Gaveriaux-Ruff
- IGBMC Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Neurobiology and Genetic Department, Illkirch F-67400, France INSERM, U964, Illkirch F-67400, France CNRS, UMR7104, Illkirch F-67400, France UdS Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France Laboratori de Neurofarmacologica, Facultat de Ciencies de la Salut i de la vida, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomedica de Barcelona, 08003 Barcelona, Spain Molecular Nociception, Wolfson Institute for Biomedical research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Bie B, Zhu W, Pan ZZ. Rewarding morphine-induced synaptic function of delta-opioid receptors on central glutamate synapses. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2009; 329:290-6. [PMID: 19168708 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.108.148908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The rewarding effect of opioids, the driving force for compulsive behaviors of opioid abuse and addiction, is primarily mediated by the mu-opioid receptor. However, the role of the delta-opioid receptor (DOR) in opioid reward and addiction is still poorly understood. The recently discovered adaptive DOR property of exocytotic translocation in sensory neurons after chronic opioid exposure provides a new avenue of conceptual thoughts to exploring the DOR function in this psychoneurological disease. In this study, we investigated potential adaptive function of DOR in neurons of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), a forebrain structure increasingly recognized for mediating stimulus reward learning in drug addiction. Using whole-cell recordings in CeA slices, we found that in rats displaying morphine-induced behavior of conditioned place preference, a behavioral measure of drug reward, the overall synaptic strength of glutamate synapses in CeA neurons was significantly enhanced. The selective DOR agonist [D-Pen(2),D-Pen(5)]-enkephalin, having no apparent effect on glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) in neurons from control rats, produced a significant, dose-dependent inhibition of the synaptic current in neurons from those morphine-treated rats. Detailed analyses of EPSC properties revealed that DOR activation inhibited the EPSC by reducing presynaptic release of glutamate, indicating functional DOR emerging on presynaptic glutamate terminals. The morphine treatment also significantly increased DOR proteins in CeA preparations of synaptosomes. These findings provide functional evidence for an adaptive modulation by presynaptic DOR of a key synaptic activity altered by morphine, thus implying likely important involvement of DOR in opioid reward and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bihua Bie
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Texas-M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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12
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Sykes KT, White SR, Hurley RW, Mizoguchi H, Tseng LF, Hammond DL. Mechanisms responsible for the enhanced antinociceptive effects of micro-opioid receptor agonists in the rostral ventromedial medulla of male rats with persistent inflammatory pain. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2007; 322:813-21. [PMID: 17494863 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.107.121954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated three possible mechanisms by which the antinociceptive effects of the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist [d-Ala(2),N-Me-Phe(4),Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO) and the delta-opioid receptor (DOR) agonist [d-Ala(2),Glu(4)]-deltorphin (deltorphin II) (DELT), microinjected into the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), are enhanced in rats with persistent inflammatory injury. Radioligand binding determined that neither the B(max) nor the K(d) values of [(3)H]DAMGO differed in RVM membranes from rats that received an intraplantar injection of saline or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in one hindpaw 4 h, 4 days, or 2 weeks earlier. Likewise, neither the EC(50) nor the E(max) value for DAMGO-induced stimulation of guanosine 5'-O-(3-[(35)S]thio)triphosphate ([(35)S]GTPgammaS) binding differed in the RVM of saline- or CFA-treated rats at any time point. Microinjection of fixed dose combinations of DAMGO and DELT in the RVM of naive rats indicated that these agonists interact synergistically to produce antinociception when DAMGO is present in equal or greater amounts than DELT and, additively, when DELT is the predominant component. Thus, unlike the periphery or spinal cord, potentiation of MOR-mediated antinociception does not entail an increase in MOR number, affinity, or coupling. Rather, the data are concordant with our proposal that potentiation results from a synergistic interaction of exogenous MOR agonist with DOR-preferring enkephalins whose levels are increased in CFA-treated rats (J Neurosci 21:2536-2545, 2001). Virtually no specific [(3)H]DELT binding nor stimulation of [(35)S]GTPgammaS binding by DELT was obtained in RVM membranes from CFA- or saline-treated rats at any time point. The mechanisms responsible for the potentiation of DELT-mediated antinociception remain to be elucidated.
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MESH Headings
- Analgesics/metabolism
- Analgesics/pharmacology
- Animals
- Cell Membrane/metabolism
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Drug Synergism
- Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-/metabolism
- Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-/pharmacology
- Freund's Adjuvant/pharmacology
- Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate)/metabolism
- Hindlimb
- Hyperalgesia/etiology
- Hyperalgesia/metabolism
- Hyperalgesia/prevention & control
- Inflammation/chemically induced
- Inflammation/complications
- Inflammation/pathology
- Male
- Medulla Oblongata/chemistry
- Medulla Oblongata/drug effects
- Medulla Oblongata/metabolism
- Oligopeptides/pharmacology
- Pain/etiology
- Pain/metabolism
- Pain/prevention & control
- Pain Measurement/methods
- Rats
- Rats, Sprague-Dawley
- Reaction Time/drug effects
- Receptors, Opioid, delta/agonists
- Receptors, Opioid, mu/agonists
- Receptors, Opioid, mu/analysis
- Receptors, Opioid, mu/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth T Sykes
- Department of Anesthesia, The University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Dr. 6 JCP, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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