Orexin receptor type-1 antagonist SB-334867 inhibits the development of morphine analgesic tolerance in rats

Herein the effect of orexin receptor type-1 antagonist SB-334867 on the development of tolerance to analgesic effects of morphine was studied in rats. To incite tolerance, morphine sulfate was injected intraperitoneally (i.p., 10mg/kg) once a day for 7 days. The tail flick test was used to evaluate antinociceptive effects of the morphine. A selective OxR1 receptor antagonist, SB-334867, was microinjected (i.c.v.) into the right cerebral ventricle (10 μg/10 μl) immediately before each morphine injection. Repeated morphine application resulted in tolerance to morphine analgesic effects as a decreasing trend during 7 days. Also, repeated administration of SB-334867 (i.c.v.) alone was without significant effect on the nociception as compared to control. Microinjection of SB-334867 prior to each morphine injection inhibited the development of tolerance, so that the analgesic effects of morphine were significantly higher in SB-334867 plus morphine treated rats than that of vehicle plus morphine treated ones on days 4-7. It is concluded that orexin receptor type-1 might be involved in the development of tolerance to morphine analgesic effects.     

Delayed onset of single dose tolerance to morphine analgesia

Rats received either 20 mg/Kg of morphine sulfate I.P. or 5 μgm of morphine sulfate microinjected into the periaqueductal gray area of the brain. The analgesic effect of the morphine was determined by comparing pre- and postinjection tailflick latencies. To test for tolerance following a single injection, the procedure was repeated 6, 12 or 24 hours after the first injection and tests. Tolerance was not observed 6 hours after the original injection, tolerance was observed at 12 hours and increased tolerance was present at 24 hours. Single dose tolerance to morphine appears to develop slowly over a period of several hours and during much of this time, the amount of opiate present in the brain was insufficient to produce analgesia. Similarity between central and peripheral administration suggests a central mechanism of single dose tolerance.     

Increased brain P-glycoprotein in morphine tolerant rats

The objective of this study was to determine whether chronic morphine exposure increased P-glycoprotein in rat brain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with morphine, saline, or dexamethasone for 5 days. On day 6, antinociceptive effect was measured to evaluate the extent of functional tolerance to morphine. Brain P-glycoprotein was detected by Western blot analysis of whole brain homogenate. Morphine- and dexamethasone-treated rats exhibited decreased antinociceptive response when compared to saline-treated controls. Brain P-glycoprotein was approximately 2-fold higher in morphine-treated rats compared to saline controls based on Western blot analysis. Chronic morphine exposure appears to increase P-glycoprotein in rat brain. P-glycoprotein induction may enhance morphine efflux from the brain, thus reducing morphine's pharmacologic activity. Induction of P-glycoprotein may be one mechanism involved in the development of morphine tolerance.     

慢性吗啡耐受大鼠脑内孤啡肽生成与释放增加

本文彩放射免疫分析法测定了慢性吗啡耐受过程中大鼠脑室灌流液、中脑导水管周围灰质（ＰＡＧ）及杏仁核中孤啡肽（ＯＦＱ）免疫活性的动态变化。结果观察到：（１）大鼠连续５ｄ皮下注射递增剂量的盐酸吗中民慢性吗啡耐受,其脑室灌流中ＯＦＱ－ｉｒ随吗啡注射剂量和注射次数的增加逐渐上升,第５ｄ注射后较对照组升高了５２％;（２）皮下注射吗啡１ｄ、３ｄ、５ｄ的大鼠ＰＡＧ中ＯＦＱ－ｉｒ比对照组分别升高了１７％、４８％和８     

The effect of an endogenous compound 1-methyl-1,2,3,4,-tetrahydroisoquinoline on morphine-induced analgesia, dependence and neurochemical changes in dopamine metabolism in rat brain structures.

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroisoquinolines, among them the most interesting neuroprotective substance, an inhibitor of MAO, 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (1MeTIQ), are endogenous compounds present in the central nervous system of mammals and humans. In this study, we investigated the effect of 1MeTIQ on morphine-induced analgesia, tolerance and abstinence syndrome as well as its effect on morphine-induced changes in dopamine metabolism in rat brain structures (nucleus accumbens, striatum, substantia nigra) using HPLC methodology. The experiments were carried out on male Wistar rats. Morphine analgesia was measured in the "hot-plate" test. To induce tolerance, morphine was given chronically (20 mg/kg i.p.) alone or following 1MeTIQ (50 mg/kg i.p.) injection. The development of dependence was assessed in the naloxone (2 mg/kg i.p.) precipitation test, after 10 days of morphine administration. The behavioral studies have shown that an endogenous compound, 1MeTIQ produced strong potentiation of morphine analgesia, prevented the development of morphine tolerance and inhibited expression of morphine abstinence syndrome in morphine-dependent rats. In neurochemical studies, we have demonstrated that 1MeTIQ antagonized morphine-induced changes in dopamine metabolism observed in rat brain structures. The main finding of this study was demonstration for the first time of an anti-abuse effect of an endogenous compound, 1MeTIQ, and its efficiency in counteracting morphine-induced addiction in the way useful from clinical point of view. The obtained results suggested a possibility of clinical application of 1MeTIQ in morphine addiction.     

Regulation by chronic clonidine of adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the rat locus coeruleus

Clonidine and morphine are known to produce tolerance and dependence in rat locus coeruleus (LC) neurons after chronic administration based on electrophysiological criteria. Previous studies have shown that morphine tolerance and dependence is associated with increases in levels of adenylate cyclase, pertussis toxin-mediated ADP-ribosylation of G-proteins, and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in this brain region. The present study was aimed at investigating whether clonidine tolerance and dependence is also associated with alterations in these intracellular messengers. It was found that, similar to chronic morphine, chronic (2 weeks) clonidine administration, under conditions that produce electrophysiological evidence of tolerance and dependence in LC neurons, increased levels of adenylate cyclase activity and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity in this brain region, but not in several other regions studied, which included the frontal cortex, neostriatum, and dorsal raphe. However, the changes induced by chronic clonidine in the LC, at maximal doses and duration of treatment, were only approximately 50% in magnitude of those observed in response to morphine. Unlike chronic morphine, chronic clonidine produced no change in G-protein ADP-ribosylation levels in the LC. Chronic administration of a number of other drugs, namely diazepam, chloral hydrate, and dextromethorphan, which produce electrophysiological actions distinct from those of clonidine and morphine in the LC, failed to alter adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in this brain region. The results indicate that increased levels of adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase represent common adaptations by LC neurons to chronic clonidine and morphine, and raise the possibility that such changes contribute to the development of clonidine and morphine tolerance and dependence in these neurons.     

Dissociation of tolerance to the analgesic and hypothermic effects of morphine by using thyrotropin releasing hormone

The effects of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) on tolerance to the analgesic and hypothermic effects of morphine were determined in male Swiss Webster mice. The tolerance to morphine was induced by SC implantation of a morphine pellet containing 75 mg morphine free base for 3 days. Subcutaneous injections of TRH (4 mg/kg) twice a day inhibited tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine, as evidenced by a greater degree of analgesia in TRH treated mice as compared with similarly treated vehicle injected controls. The same treatment, however, failed to modify tolerance to the hypothermic effect of morphine. These effects were produced with alterations in brain or plasma levels of morphine. It is concluded that tolerance to the two pharmacological effects of morphine may involve separate mechanism.     

Lack of opiate receptor involvement in centrally induced calcitonin analgesia.

Calcitonin (CT) injected into the brain ventricles (ICV) of conscious rabbits induced an analgesia not reversable by naloxone which could be repeatedly elicited (for 5 days), while tolerance to morphine developed. CT and morphine synergized $\text{in vivo}$ when administered ICV in combination. CT did not alter electrically-induced contractions of guinea-pig myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle and no displace of ³H-dihydromorphine by CT was observed in brain opiate receptor preparations. We have concluded that the mechanism of centrally induced CT analgesia may be opiate-independent.     

A pharmacokinetic approach to morphine analgesia and its relation to regional turnover of rat brain catecholamines.

Morphine concentrations in plasma and four discrete areas of the rat brain following intravenous administration, can be described by a three-compartment open model. The pharmacokinetic behavior of morphine was the same in each of the different parts of the brain. When relating this behavior to the effects of morphine on the threshold for vocalisation and vocalisation-after-discharge, it was possible to develop a pharmacokinetic model which suggests that morphine induces its analgesic effect by a change of activities in at least two neurophysiological systems.As a result of investigations of morphine-induced changes of catecholamine turnover in different parts of the brain and of the consequences of modulating central monoaminergic activity prior to morphine administration, it was suggested that one of the two neurophysiological systems could be dopaminergic. In this system morphine increases the turnover of dopamine, most probably by releasing this transmitter from limbic structures that initiate the effect of morphine on the threshold for vocalisation-afterdischarge (the emotional component of pain reactions).     

Morphine-like activity of the enkephalin analog Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-NH2

The analgetic activity of the tetrapeptide enkephalin analog, its influence on the interneuronal transmission of excitation in various areas of the central nervous system and on opiate receptors of vas deferens were studied. The tetrapeptide was found to have a marked analgetic effect during intravenous injection to mice but to be less active than morphine. The tetrapeptide as well as morphine inhibited the impulse summation in rabbits and both spontaneous and bradykinin-induced neuronal activity in the rat sensory motor cortex. The tetrapeptide inhibited the contractions of isolated vas deferens in mice. The opiate antagonist naloxone eliminated both analgetic effect of the tetrapeptide and its inhibitory effect on the impulse summation, neuronal activity and contractions of vas deferens.     

Changes in succinic dehydrogenase activity in the central nervous system of mice during morphine dependence development, withdrawal and naloxone treatment

The possible role of succinic dehydrogenase (SD) in producing physical dependence to morphine by affecting tissue respiration was investigated in Swiss albino mice during the development of morphine tolerance through a period of addiction and naloxone withdrawal therapy. Tolerance and physical dependence were induced by injecting the mice with morphine sulfate subcutaneously at 8-hour intervals, increasing the dose from 10 mg/kg BW every 24 h for 15 days. The animals were considered to be addicted when they were able to tolerate an otherwise lethal dose of 150 mg/kg 3 times a day. Results indicated that succinic dehydrogenase was inhibited throughout the 15-day period of morphine administration and that this effect was greatest in tolerant animals. Increasing the dose and duration of treatment did not cause further decreases in enzyme activity; instead, after 15 days levels of enzyme activity increased in addicted animals compared with tolerant mice. Furthermore, morphine abstinence for 2 days, markedly increased the levels of SD activity, while 6 days of abstinence had little effect. Naloxone withdrawal at each stage was associated with increased SD activity, but the increase was significant only in tolerant mice.     

Substance P levels in various regions of the rat central nervous system after acute and chronic morphine treatment

Substance P levels were measured in various CNS regions from rats treated acutely and chronically with morphine. There was no observable effect in the group treated with an acute dose of morphine (10 mg/kg) and sacrificed after 2 h. After 35 days chronic treatment with increasing doses of the drug, the rats were divided into three groups and sacrificed 2 h, 24 h and 7 days after the last injection. The substance P level was increased in the corpus striatum 2 h and 24 h and in the medulla oblongata and dorsal part of the spinal cord 2 h after withdrawal. Seven days after the last injection the levels had returned to normal in these areas. No effects were observed in the cerebral cortex, the hypothalamus or the ventral spinal cord at any time of measurement. Earlier studies have demonstrated that morphine inhibits release of substance P. The observed increase in tissue levels after long-term treatment is therefore interpreted as an accumulation of substance P in the neurons.     

Gz mediates the long-lasting desensitization of brain CB1 receptors and is essential for cross-tolerance with morphine

Background

Although the systemic administration of cannabinoids produces antinociception, their chronic use leads to analgesic tolerance as well as cross-tolerance to morphine. These effects are mediated by cannabinoids binding to peripheral, spinal and supraspinal CB1 and CB2 receptors, making it difficult to determine the relevance of each receptor type to these phenomena. However, in the brain, the CB1 receptors (CB1Rs) are expressed at high levels in neurons, whereas the expression of CB2Rs is marginal. Thus, CB1Rs mediate the effects of smoked cannabis and are also implicated in emotional behaviors. We have analyzed the production of supraspinal analgesia and the development of tolerance at CB1Rs by the direct injection of a series of cannabinoids into the brain. The influence of the activation of CB1Rs on supraspinal analgesia evoked by morphine was also evaluated.

Results

Intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists, WIN55,212-2, ACEA or methanandamide, generated a dose-dependent analgesia. Notably, a single administration of these compounds brought about profound analgesic tolerance that lasted for more than 14 days. This decrease in the effect of cannabinoid receptor agonists was not mediated by depletion of CB1Rs or the loss of regulated G proteins, but, nevertheless, it was accompanied by reduced morphine analgesia. On the other hand, acute morphine administration produced tolerance that lasted only 3 days and did not affect the CB1R. We found that both neural mu-opioid receptors (MORs) and CB1Rs interact with the HINT1-RGSZ module, thereby regulating pertussis toxin-insensitive Gz proteins. In mice with reduced levels of these Gz proteins, the CB1R agonists produced no such desensitization or morphine cross-tolerance. On the other hand, experimental enhancement of Gz signaling enabled an acute icv administration of morphine to produce a long-lasting tolerance at MORs that persisted for more than 2 weeks, and it also impaired the analgesic effects of cannabinoids.

Conclusion

In the brain, cannabinoids can produce analgesic tolerance that is not associated with the loss of surface CB1Rs or their uncoupling from regulated transduction. Neural specific Gz proteins are essential mediators of the analgesic effects of supraspinal CB1R agonists and morphine. These Gz proteins are also responsible for the long-term analgesic tolerance produced by single doses of these agonists, as well as for the cross-tolerance between CB1Rs and MORs.     

Immunohistochemical study of opioid receptors after chronic morphine treatment in rats

Previously, we have used the biochemical receptor binding method to investigate whether down-regulation of the opioid receptor is a mechanism for morphine tolerance, and we were led to a negative conclusion. In the current study, we further used immunohistochemistry to reinvestigate this issue. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g) were chronically treated with morphine s.c. for 2, 4 or 6 days, using an escalating dosage paradigm (5-45 mg), which resulted in a 1.8 to 4.0-fold increase in AD50. Rat brains were removed, frozen, coronally sectioned (14 microm) and processed for mu- or delta-opioid receptor immunohistochemistry using the Avidin-Biotin Complex (ABC) method. No significant decrease in mu-opioid receptor (MOR) immunodensity was found in most of the brain regions, which were enriched with MOR after chronic treatment with morphine except for the anteroventral thalamic nucleus in the ventrolateral part (AVVL). No significant change in delta-opioid receptor (DOR) immunodensity after chronic treatment with morphine was found either. Therefore, our conclusion is that down regulation of opioid receptors may not be an important mechanism for morphine tolerance.     

吗啡耐受和电针耐受时大鼠脑内血管紧张素原的基因表达加速

我们以往的工作表明,脑内血管紧张素Ⅱ(AⅡ)作为一种抗阿片物质参与吗啡耐受和电针耐受。本工作探讨在此过程中脑内AⅡ的基因表达是否加速。采用酚抽提法提取大鼠脑组织总RNA,使用人工合成的寡脱氧核糖核酸探针进行打点杂交。放射自显影结果表明,多次皮下注射吗啡或连续数小时电针的大鼠脑血管紧张素原(Ang)mRNA含量明显升高。在IBAS图象分析仪上,测量各杂交点自显影曝光斑的积分光密度值(I.O.D.)表明,连续注射吗啡1d或4d使Ang mRNA分别增高1倍或8倍;电针3或6h使Ang mRNA分别增高5倍或13倍。说明大鼠经3—4h吗啡或电针处理,即可引起在转录水平上脑内Ang基因表达加强。     

Effect of chronic morphine treatment on the biosynthesis of agmatine in rat brain and other tissues

Agmatine is an endogenous amine derived from the decarboxylation of arginine by arginine decarboxylase (ADC), and metabolized to putrescine by agmatinase. Exogenously administered agmatine has several biological actions including its ability to potentiate morphine analgesia and block symptoms of morphine tolerance/withdrawal in rats. To investigate the role of endogenous agmatine in this action, we sought to determine whether chronic exposure to morphine and induction of withdrawal modulate the synthesis of agmatine in rat brain and other tissues. Exposure of rats to morphine for three days significantly decreases the activity of ADC and the levels of agmatine in rat liver, kidney, brain, aorta and intestine with no changes in agmatinase activity. The precipitation of withdrawal syndrome by injecting naloxone further decreases ADC activity and agmatine levels in these tissues. We conclude that endogenous agmatine may play an important role in regulating morphine tolerance/dependence and withdrawal symptoms.     

Isoflurane Post-Treatment Improves Outcome after an Embolic Stroke in Rabbits

Application of commonly used volatile anesthetics after brain ischemia onset (post-treatment) provides neuroprotection in rodents. To further test its translational potential, this study was designed to determine whether isoflurane post-treatment induced neuroprotection in rabbits after embolic stroke. White male New Zealand rabbits received intra-carotid injection of clots when they were awake. Some rabbits were exposed to 2.5% isoflurane for 1 h at 5 min after the injection. Isoflurane post-treatment increased the tolerance of rabbits to the amount of clots. Isoflurane post-treatment also reduced brain infarct volumes and plasma S100B 3 days after the injection of 5 mg clots and improved neurological deficit scores after the stroke. Isoflurane post-treatment improves neurological outcome in rabbits after embolic stroke.     

Differences in the pharmacological actions of intrathecally administered neurotensin and morphine

Neurotensin or morphine can each cause hypothermia and an antinocisponsive effect when administered into the liquor spaces of the rat brain. These actions of neurotensin are not blocked by naloxone whereas those of morphine are. The present experiments were carried out to examine the action of each substance following its injection into the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord. Given intrathecally, neurotensin evoked a dose-related fall in the rectal temperature of the rat without exerting an antinocisponsive action. Morphine on the other hand evoked hyperthermia and a dose-related antinocisponsive action. Since neurotensin exerted an effect on rectal temperature opposite to that of morphine and failed to exert an antinocisponsive effect, the data provide further evidence to suggest that neurotensin and morphine exert their effect via different mechanisms. Furthermore, the results also suggest that neurotensin exerts its antinocisponsive action via a supraspinal site.     

Chronic intracerebroventricular infusion of the antiopioid peptide, Phe-Leu-Phe-Gln-Pro-Gln-Arg-Phe-NH2 (NPFF), downregulates mu opioid binding sites in rat brain

Phe-Leu-Phe-Gln-Pro-Gln-Arg-Phe-NH2 (NPFF), an endogenous mammalian antiopioid peptide, has been shown by other laboratories to attenuate the acute antinociceptive effects of morphine, the development of morphine tolerance, and naloxone-induced withdrawal in morphine-dependent rats. The present study determined the effect of chronic NPFF on mu opioid receptors and mRNA for the endogenous opioids dynorphin and enkephalin. Rats received ICV infusions of either saline or NPFF (5 μg/h) for 13 days via Alzet 2002 osmotic minipumps. Homogenate binding studies, which used whole brain membranes, demonstrated that NPFF decreased the B_max of mu binding sites (labeled by [³H][ -Ala²-MePhe⁴,Gly-ol⁵]enkephalin) from 262 ± 12 to 192 ± 12 fmolmg protein, and increased the K_d from 1.1 to 2.3 nM. Quantitative receptor autoradiography and in situ hybridization experiments were conducted with sections collected at the level of the striatum. The density of mu opioid binding sites labeled by [³H][ -Ala²-MePhe⁴,Gly-ol⁵]enkephalin was decreased in all brain areas measured except the corpus callosum, and there was no change in dynorphin mRNA or enkephalin mRNA in the caudate, the nucleus accumbens, or the ventral pallidum. Rats chronically administered ICV morphine sulfate (20 μg/h) for 14 days developed tolerance to morphine and a low degree of dependence, as measured by naloxone-precipitated withdrawal. Chronic administration of NPFF concurrently with morphine sulfate did not significantly alter naloxone-induced withdrawal signs or the development of morphine tolerance. Viewed collectively with previous findings that chronic ICV infusion of anti-NPFF IgG upregulates mu receptors, these data provide additional evidence that the density of CNS mu receptors is tonically regulated by NPFF in the extracellular fluid. The action of NPFF to decrease mu receptors is consistent with an antiopioid role for this peptide; however, the fact that NPFF (administered into the lateral ventricle) did not appreciably alter expression of morphine tolerance and dependence contrasts with previous findings and reinforces the view that this effect is most reliably seen after third ventricle administration.     

BiP,an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone,modulates the development of morphine antinociceptive tolerance

Morphine is a potent analgesic, but the molecular mechanism for tolerance formation after repeated use is not fully understood. Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone that is central to ER function. We examined knock‐in mice expressing a mutant BiP with the retrieval sequence deleted in order to elucidate physiological processes that are sensitive to BiP functions. We tested the thermal antinociceptive effect of morphine in heterozygous mutant BiP mice in a hot plate test. Paw withdrawal latencies before and after a single administration of morphine were not significantly different between the wild‐type and mutant BiP mice. Repeated morphine administration caused the development of morphine tolerance in the wild‐type mice. The activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3b (GSK‐3b) was associated with morphine tolerance, because an inhibitor of GSK‐3β prevented it. On the other hand, the mutant BiP mice showed less morphine tolerance, and the activation of GSK‐3b was suppressed in their brain. These results suggest that BiP may play an important role in the development of morphine tolerance. Furthermore, we found that a chemical chaperone which improves ER protein folding capacity also attenuated the development of morphine tolerance in wild‐type mice, suggesting a possible clinical application of chemical chaperones in preventing morphine tolerance.