Normally, opioids function in a receptor-dependent manner. They bind to opioid receptors, activate or inhibit receptor activation, and subsequently modulate downstream signal transduction. However, the complex functions of opioids and the low expression of opioid receptors and their endogenous peptide agonists in neural stem cells (NSCs) suggest that some opioids may also modulate NSCs via a receptor-independent pathway. In the current study, two opioids, morphine and naloxone, are demonstrated to facilitate NSC proliferation via a receptor-independent and ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase 1 (TET1)-dependent pathway. Morphine and naloxone penetrate cell membrane, bind to TET1 protein via three key residues (1,880-1,882), and subsequently result in facilitated proliferation of NSCs. In addition, the two opioids also inhibit the DNA demethylation ability of TET1. In summary, the current results connect opioids and DNA demethylation directly at least in NSCs and extend our understanding on both opioids and NSCs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.075 | DOI Listing |
Curr Mol Med
January 2025
Department of Anesthesiology, Baoan Central Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
Background: Morphine, a mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist commonly utilized in clinical settings alongside chemotherapy to manage chronic pain in cancer patients, has exhibited contradictory effects on cancer, displaying specificity toward certain cancer types and doses.
Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic assessment and comparison of the impacts of morphine on three distinct cancer models in a preclinical setting.
Methods: Viability and apoptosis assays were conducted on a panel of cancer cell lines following treatment with morphine, chemotherapy drugs alone, or their combination.
ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci
January 2025
Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
Opioid agonist ligands bind opioid receptors and stimulate downstream signaling cascades for various biological processes including pain and reward. Historically, before cloning the receptors, muscle contraction assays using isolated organ tissues were used followed by radiolabel ligand binding assays on native tissues. Upon cloning of the opioid G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), cell assays using transfected opioid receptor DNA plasmids became the standard practice including S-GTPγS functional and cAMP based assays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Opioid Manag
January 2025
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Objective: To implement an electronic health record best practice advisory (BPA) to promote coprescribing of naloxone to patients at high risk of serious opioid-related adverse events (ORADEs).
Design: This pre-post quasi-experimental study evaluated 9 months of opioid and naloxone prescription data before and after BPA implementation.
Setting: The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin enterprise is comprised of 45 ambulatory clinics and 10 hospitals, including the only adult Level 1 trauma center in eastern Wisconsin.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol
December 2024
The author is retired. The positions and affiliations are those prior to his retirement.
Important insights and consensus remain lacking for risk prediction of opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), reversal of respiratory depression (RD), the pathophysiology of OIRD, and which sites make the most significant contribution to its induction. The ventilatory response to inhaled carbon dioxide is the most sensitive biomarker of OIRD. To accurately predict respiratory depression (RD), a multivariant RD prospective trial using continuous capnograph and oximetry examining 5 independent variables: age ≥60, sex, opioid naivety, sleep disorders, and chronic heart failure (PRODIGY trial), was undertaken.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Med Chem
February 2025
A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 28, bld. 1, Moscow, 119334, Russia. Electronic address:
Thevinols and their 3-O-demethylated relatives, orvinols, are derivatives of the Diels-Alder adduct of natural alkaloid thebaine with methyl vinyl ketone. Taken together, thevinols and orvinols constitute an important family of opioid receptor (OR) ligands playing an important role in both the OR mediated antinociception and OR antagonism. Herein, we disclose for the first time the antagonist activity of the N-allyl substituted orvinol derivative fluorinated within the pharmacophore associated with C(20) and its surrounding.
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