title: Increased abundance of opioid receptor heteromers after chronic morphine administration.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Achla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.forename: Ivone
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rozenfeld
authors.forename: Ittai
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bushlin
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Maribel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Emeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maillet
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Junek
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.forename: Tibor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harkany
authors.forename: Lakshmi A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Devi
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D017465:Receptors, Opioid, delta; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D009020:Morphine; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases