Adenylyl cyclase type 5 (AC5) is an essential mediator of morphine action.
Opioid drugs produce their pharmacological effects by activating inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein-linked mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptors. One major effector for these receptors is adenylyl cyclase, which is inhibited upon receptor activation. However, little is known about which of the ten known forms of adenylyl cyclase are involved in mediating opioid actions. Here we show that all of the major behavioral effects of morphine, including locomotor activation, analgesia, tolerance, reward, and physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms, are attenuated in mice lacking adenylyl cyclase type 5 (AC5), a form of adenylyl cyclase that is highly enriched in striatum. Furthermore, the behavioral effects of selective mu or delta opioid receptor agonists are lost in AC5-/- mice, whereas the behavioral effects of selective kappa opioid receptor agonists are unaffected. These behavioral data are consistent with the observation that the ability of a mu or delta opioid receptor agonist to suppress adenylyl cyclase activity was absent in striatum of AC5-/- mice. Together, these results establish AC5 as an important component of mu and delta opioid receptor signal transduction mechanisms in vivo and provide further support for the importance of the cAMP pathway as a critical mediator of opioid action.
Department of Neuroscience, Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul 110-783, Korea.
Kyoung-Shim
KS
Kim
Ko-Woon
KW
Lee
Kang-Woo
KW
Lee
Joo-Young
JY
Im
Ji Yeoun
JY
Yoo
Seung-Woo
SW
Kim
Ja-Kyeong
JK
Lee
Eric J
EJ
Nestler
Pyung-Lim
PL
Han
D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000819:agonists / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
D007527:Isoenzymes; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D009020:Morphine; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases; C419510:adenylyl cyclase type V