Increased abundance of opioid receptor heteromers after chronic morphine administration

• Published in: Science signaling Vol. 3; no. 131; p. ra54
• Main Authors: Gupta, Achla, Mulder, Jan, Gomes, Ivone, Rozenfeld, Raphael, Bushlin, Ittai, Ong, Edmund, Lim, Maribel, Maillet, Emeline, Junek, Mats, Cahill, Catherine M, Harkany, Tibor, Devi, Lakshmi A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 20.07.2010
• Subjects: Adenylyl Cyclases - metabolism; Animals; Antibodies - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Brain - metabolism; CHO Cells; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Gene Expression Regulation - physiology; Immunohistochemistry; Immunoprecipitation; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Morphine - administration & dosage; Morphine - pharmacology; Multiprotein Complexes - metabolism; Neurons - metabolism; Rats; Receptors, Opioid, delta - genetics; Receptors, Opioid, delta - metabolism; Receptors, Opioid, mu - metabolism; Signal Transduction - physiology
• ISSN: 1937-9145
• DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2000807

The mu and delta types of opioid receptors form heteromers that exhibit pharmacological and functional properties distinct from those of homomeric receptors. To characterize these complexes in the brain, we generated antibodies that selectively recognize the mu-delta heteromer and blocked its in vitro signaling. With these antibodies, we showed that chronic, but not acute, morphine treatment caused an increase in the abundance of mu-delta heteromers in key areas of the central nervous system that are implicated in pain processing. Because of its distinct signaling properties, the mu-delta heteromer could be a therapeutic target in the treatment of chronic pain and addiction.