Abstract
The G-protein activation induced by μ-opioid receptor agonists in the pons/medulla membrane obtained from mice lacking exons 2 and 3 of μ-opioid receptor gene (MOR (Exons 2 and 3)-knockout (KO) mice) was investigated by monitoring guanosine-5′-o-(3-[35S]thio)triphosphate ([35S]GTPγS) binding. The MOR agonists D-Ala2,MePhe4,Gly(ol)5)enkephalin, endomorphin-1 and endomorphin-2 each produced concentration-dependent increases in [35S]GTPγS binding to pons/medulla membrane in wild-type mice, but not in MOR (Exons 2 and 3)-KO mice. β-Endorphin also produced a concentration-dependent increase of [35S]GTPγS binding to pons/medulla membrane in wild-type mice, however the increase of [35S]GTPγS binding induced by β-endorphin was partially attenuated in MOR (Exons 2 and 3)-KO mice. The present results suggest that MOR that is created from the sequences encoded with exons 2 and 3 of the MOR gene, as has been previously observed in studies of mice lacking exon 1 of this gene, may be another critical target for the activation of G-protein by MOR agonists in the mouse pons/medulla.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 91-94 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neuroscience Letters |
Volume | 335 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 25 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by US Public Health Service Grant DA 03811 and DA 12588 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Keywords
- G-protein activation
- Mouse
- Pons/medulla
- ε-opioid receptor
- μ-opioid receptor