title: Anatomical and functional correlation of the endomorphins with mu opioid receptor splice variants.
abstract: The present study characterizes the relationship between the endogenous mu opioid peptides endomorphin-1 (EM-1) and endomorphin-2 (EM-2) and several splice variants of the cloned mu opioid receptor (MOR-1) encoded by the mu opioid receptor gene (Oprm). Confocal laser microscopy revealed that fibers containing EM-2-like immunoreactivity (-LI) were distributed in close apposition to fibers showing MOR-1-LI (exon 4-LI) and to MOR-1C-LI (exons 7/8/9-LI) in the superficial laminae of the lumbar spinal cord. We also observed colocalization of EM-2-LI and MOR-1-LI in a few fibers of lamina II, and colocalization of EM-2-LI and MOR-1C-LI in laminae I-II, and V-VI. To assess the functional relevance of the MOR-1 variants in endomorphin analgesia, we examined the effects of antisense treatments that targeted individual exons within the Oprm1 gene on EM-1 and EM-2 analgesia in the tail flick test. This antisense mapping study implied mu opioid receptor mechanisms for the endomorphins are distinct from those of morphine or morphine-6beta-glucuronide (M6G).
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abbadie
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orciuolo
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Zadina
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Pasternak
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000235:genetics; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009842:Oligopeptides; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; C105293:endomorphin 1; C105294:endomorphin 2