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Zhu F, Kanda H, Neyama H, Wu Y, Kato S, Hu D, Duan S, Noguchi K, Watanabe Y, Kobayashi K, Dai Y, Cui Y. Modulation of Nicotine-Associated Behaviour in Rats By μ-Opioid Signals from the Medial Prefrontal Cortex to the Nucleus Accumbens Shell. Neurosci Bull 2024:10.1007/s12264-024-01230-1. [PMID: 38850386 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-024-01230-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Nicotine addiction is a concern worldwide. Most mechanistic investigations are on nicotine substance dependence properties based on its pharmacological effects. However, no effective therapeutic treatment has been established. Nicotine addiction is reinforced by environments or habits. We demonstrate the neurobiological basis of the behavioural aspect of nicotine addiction. We utilized the conditioned place preference to establish nicotine-associated behavioural preferences (NABP) in rats. Brain-wide neuroimaging analysis revealed that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was activated and contributed to NABP. Chemogenetic manipulation of µ-opioid receptor positive (MOR+) neurons in the mPFC or the excitatory outflow to the nucleus accumbens shell (NAcShell) modulated the NABP. Electrophysiological recording confirmed that the MOR+ neurons directly regulate the mPFC-NAcShell circuit via GABAA receptors. Thus, the MOR+ neurons in the mPFC modulate the formation of behavioural aspects of nicotine addiction via direct excitatory innervation to the NAcShell, which may provide new insight for the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Zhu
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan
| | - Hirosato Kanda
- School of Pharmacy, Hyogo Medical University, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-8530, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Neyama
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yuping Wu
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Shigeki Kato
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Fukushima Medical University Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan
| | - Di Hu
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Shaoqi Duan
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan
| | - Koichi Noguchi
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan
| | - Yasuyoshi Watanabe
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Kazuto Kobayashi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Fukushima Medical University Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima, 960-1295, Japan
| | - Yi Dai
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
| | - Yilong Cui
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
- Laboratory for Brain-Gut Homeostasis, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan.
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2
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Carter JK, Quach BC, Willis C, Minto MS, Hancock DB, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Corradin O, Logan RW, Walss-Bass C, Maher BS, Johnson EO. Identifying novel gene dysregulation associated with opioid overdose death: A meta-analysis of differential gene expression in human prefrontal cortex. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.01.12.24301153. [PMID: 38260365 PMCID: PMC10802752 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.12.24301153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Only recently have human postmortem brain studies of differential gene expression (DGE) associated with opioid overdose death (OOD) been published; sample sizes from these studies have been modest (N = 40-153). To increase statistical power to identify OOD-associated genes, we leveraged human prefrontal cortex RNAseq data from four independent OOD studies and conducted a transcriptome-wide DGE meta-analysis (N = 285). Using a unified gene expression data processing and analysis framework across studies, we meta-analyzed 20 098 genes and found 335 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by OOD status (false discovery rate < 0.05). Of these, 66 DEGs were among the list of 303 genes reported as OOD-associated in prior prefrontal cortex molecular studies, including genes/gene families (e.g., OPRK1, NPAS4, DUSP, EGR). The remaining 269 DEGs were not previously reported (e.g., NR4A2, SYT1, HCRTR2, BDNF). There was little evidence of genetic drivers for the observed differences in gene expression between opioid addiction cases and controls. Enrichment analyses for the DEGs across molecular pathway and biological process databases highlight an interconnected set of genes and pathways from orexin and tyrosine kinase receptors through MEK/ERK/MAPK signaling to affect neuronal plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javan K. Carter
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Bryan C. Quach
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Caryn Willis
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Melyssa S. Minto
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Dana B. Hancock
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Janitza Montalvo-Ortiz
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Human Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Clinical Neurosciences Division, National Center of PTSD, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Olivia Corradin
- Whitehead Institute Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ryan W. Logan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Consuelo Walss-Bass
- Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
- MD Anderson Cancer Center University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Brion S. Maher
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Eric Otto Johnson
- Omics, Epidemiology, and Analytics Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
- Fellow Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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3
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Puig S, Xue X, Salisbury R, Shelton MA, Kim SM, Hildebrand MA, Glausier JR, Freyberg Z, Tseng GC, Yocum AK, Lewis DA, Seney ML, MacDonald ML, Logan RW. Circadian rhythm disruptions associated with opioid use disorder in synaptic proteomes of human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4777-4792. [PMID: 37674018 PMCID: PMC10914630 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02241-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Opioid craving and relapse vulnerability is associated with severe and persistent sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of circadian rhythms and opioid use disorder (OUD) may prove valuable for developing new treatments for opioid addiction. Previous work indicated molecular rhythm disruptions in the human brain associated with OUD, highlighting synaptic alterations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc)-key brain regions involved in cognition and reward, and heavily implicated in the pathophysiology of OUD. To provide further insights into the synaptic alterations in OUD, we used mass-spectrometry based proteomics to deeply profile protein expression alterations in bulk tissue and synaptosome preparations from DLPFC and NAc of unaffected and OUD subjects. We identified 55 differentially expressed (DE) proteins in DLPFC homogenates, and 44 DE proteins in NAc homogenates, between unaffected and OUD subjects. In synaptosomes, we identified 161 and 56 DE proteins in DLPFC and NAc, respectively, of OUD subjects. By comparing homogenate and synaptosome protein expression, we identified proteins enriched specifically in synapses that were significantly altered in both DLPFC and NAc of OUD subjects. Across brain regions, synaptic protein alterations in OUD subjects were primarily identified in glutamate, GABA, and circadian rhythm signaling. Using time-of-death (TOD) analyses, where the TOD of each subject is used as a time-point across a 24-h cycle, we were able to map circadian-related changes associated with OUD in synaptic proteomes associated with vesicle-mediated transport and membrane trafficking in the NAc and platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta signaling in DLPFC. Collectively, our findings lend further support for molecular rhythm disruptions in synaptic signaling in the human brain as a key factor in opioid addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Puig
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xiangning Xue
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ryan Salisbury
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Micah A Shelton
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sam-Moon Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Mariah A Hildebrand
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jill R Glausier
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Zachary Freyberg
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - George C Tseng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - David A Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marianne L Seney
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Matthew L MacDonald
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Ryan W Logan
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
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4
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Abstract
This paper is the forty-fifth consecutive installment of the annual anthological review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system, summarizing articles published during 2022 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides and receptors as well as effects of opioid/opiate agonists and antagonists. The review is subdivided into the following specific topics: molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors (1), the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia in animals (2) and humans (3), opioid-sensitive and opioid-insensitive effects of nonopioid analgesics (4), opioid peptide and receptor involvement in tolerance and dependence (5), stress and social status (6), learning and memory (7), eating and drinking (8), drug abuse and alcohol (9), sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology (10), mental illness and mood (11), seizures and neurologic disorders (12), electrical-related activity and neurophysiology (13), general activity and locomotion (14), gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions (15), cardiovascular responses (16), respiration and thermoregulation (17), and immunological responses (18).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and Neuropsychology Doctoral Sub-Program, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, USA.
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5
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Puig S, Xue X, Salisbury R, Shelton MA, Kim SM, Hildebrand MA, Glausier JR, Freyberg Z, Tseng GC, Yocum AK, Lewis DA, Seney ML, MacDonald ML, Logan RW. Circadian rhythm disruptions associated with opioid use disorder in the synaptic proteomes of the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.07.536056. [PMID: 37066169 PMCID: PMC10104116 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.07.536056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Opioid craving and relapse vulnerability is associated with severe and persistent sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of circadian rhythms and opioid use disorder (OUD) may prove valuable for developing new treatments for opioid addiction. Previous work indicated molecular rhythm disruptions in the human brain associated with OUD, highlighting synaptic alterations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc)-key brain regions involved in cognition and reward, and heavily implicated in the pathophysiology of OUD. To provide further insights into the synaptic alterations in OUD, we used mass-spectrometry based proteomics to deeply profile protein expression alterations in bulk tissue and synaptosome preparations from DLPFC and NAc of unaffected and OUD subjects. We identified 55 differentially expressed (DE) proteins in DLPFC homogenates, and 44 DE proteins in NAc homogenates, between unaffected and OUD subjects. In synaptosomes, we identified 161 and 56 DE proteins in DLPFC and NAc, respectively, of OUD subjects. By comparing homogenate and synaptosome protein expression, we identified proteins enriched specifically in synapses that were significantly altered in both DLPFC and NAc of OUD subjects. Across brain regions, synaptic protein alterations in OUD subjects were primarily identified in glutamate, GABA, and circadian rhythm signaling. Using time-of-death (TOD) analyses, where the TOD of each subject is used as a time-point across a 24- hour cycle, we were able to map circadian-related changes associated with OUD in synaptic proteomes related to vesicle-mediated transport and membrane trafficking in the NAc and platelet derived growth factor receptor beta signaling in DLPFC. Collectively, our findings lend further support for molecular rhythm disruptions in synaptic signaling in the human brain as a key factor in opioid addiction.
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6
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Zanda MT, Saikali L, Morris P, Daws SE. MicroRNA-mediated translational pathways are regulated in the orbitofrontal cortex and peripheral blood samples during acute abstinence from heroin self-administration. ADVANCES IN DRUG AND ALCOHOL RESEARCH 2023; 3:11668. [PMID: 38389822 PMCID: PMC10880771 DOI: 10.3389/adar.2023.11668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Opioid misuse in the United States contributes to >70% of annual overdose deaths. To develop additional therapeutics that may prevent opioid misuse, further studies on the neurobiological consequences of opioid exposure are needed. Here we sought to characterize molecular neuroadaptations involving microRNA (miRNA) pathways in the brain and blood of adult male rats that self-administered the opioid heroin. miRNAs are ∼18-24 nucleotide RNAs that regulate protein expression by preventing mRNA translation into proteins. Manipulation of miRNAs and their downstream pathways can critically regulate drug seeking behavior. We performed small-RNA sequencing of miRNAs and proteomics profiling on tissue from the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a brain region associated with heroin seeking, following 2 days of forced abstinence from self-administration of 0.03 mg/kg/infusion heroin or sucrose. Heroin self-administration resulted in a robust shift of the OFC miRNA profile, regulating 77 miRNAs, while sucrose self-administration only regulated 9 miRNAs that did not overlap with the heroin-induced profile. Conversely, proteomics revealed dual regulation of seven proteins by both heroin and sucrose in the OFC. Pathway analysis determined that heroin-associated miRNA pathways are predicted to target genes associated with the term "prion disease," a term that was also enriched in the heroin-induced protein expression dataset. Lastly, we confirmed that a subset of heroin-induced miRNA expression changes in the OFC are regulated in peripheral serum and correlate with heroin infusions. These findings demonstrate that peripheral blood samples may have biomarker utility for assessment of drug-induced miRNA pathway alterations that occur in the brain following chronic drug exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Tresa Zanda
- Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neural Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Leila Saikali
- Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Paige Morris
- Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neural Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Stephanie E. Daws
- Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neural Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Huggett SB, Ikeda AS, McGeary JE, Kaun KR, Palmer RHC. Opioid Use Disorder and Alternative mRNA Splicing in Reward Circuitry. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:1045. [PMID: 35741807 PMCID: PMC9222793 DOI: 10.3390/genes13061045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Opiate/opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic relapsing brain disorder that has increased in prevalence in the last two decades in the United States. Understanding the molecular correlates of OUD may provide key insights into the pathophysiology of this syndrome. Using publicly available RNA-sequencing data, our study investigated the possible role of alternative mRNA splicing in human brain tissue (dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and midbrain) of 90 individuals with OUD or matched controls. We found a total of 788 differentially spliced genes across brain regions. Alternative mRNA splicing demonstrated mostly tissue-specific effects, but a functionally characterized splicing change in the clathrin and AP-2-binding (CLAP) domain of the Bridging Integrator 1 (BIN1) gene was significantly linked to OUD across all brain regions. We investigated two hypotheses that may underlie differential splicing in OUD. First, we tested whether spliceosome genes were disrupted in the brains of individuals with OUD. Pathway enrichment analyses indicated spliceosome perturbations in OUD across brain regions. Second, we tested whether alternative mRNA splicing regions were linked to genetic predisposition. Using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of OUD, we found no evidence that DNA variants within or surrounding differentially spliced genes were implicated in the heritability of OUD. Altogether, our study contributes to the understanding of OUD pathophysiology by providing evidence of a possible role of alternative mRNA splicing in OUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer B. Huggett
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; (S.B.H.); (A.S.I.)
| | - Ami S. Ikeda
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; (S.B.H.); (A.S.I.)
| | - John E. McGeary
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI 02908, USA;
| | - Karla R. Kaun
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA;
| | - Rohan H. C. Palmer
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; (S.B.H.); (A.S.I.)
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8
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Xue X, Zong W, Glausier JR, Kim SM, Shelton MA, Phan BN, Srinivasan C, Pfenning AR, Tseng GC, Lewis DA, Seney ML, Logan RW. Molecular rhythm alterations in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens associated with opioid use disorder. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:123. [PMID: 35347109 PMCID: PMC8960783 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01894-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Severe and persistent disruptions to sleep and circadian rhythms are common in people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Preclinical evidence suggests altered molecular rhythms in the brain modulate opioid reward and relapse. However, whether molecular rhythms are disrupted in the brains of people with OUD remained an open question, critical to understanding the role of circadian rhythms in opioid addiction. Using subjects' times of death as a marker of time of day, we investigated transcriptional rhythms in the brains of subjects with OUD compared to unaffected comparison subjects. We discovered rhythmic transcripts in both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), key brain areas involved in OUD, that were largely distinct between OUD and unaffected subjects. Fewer rhythmic transcripts were identified in DLPFC of subjects with OUD compared to unaffected subjects, whereas in the NAc, nearly double the number of rhythmic transcripts was identified in subjects with OUD. In NAc of subjects with OUD, rhythmic transcripts peaked either in the evening or near sunrise, and were associated with an opioid, dopamine, and GABAergic neurotransmission. Associations with altered neurotransmission in NAc were further supported by co-expression network analysis which identified OUD-specific modules enriched for transcripts involved in dopamine, GABA, and glutamatergic synaptic functions. Additionally, rhythmic transcripts in DLPFC and NAc of subjects with OUD were enriched for genomic loci associated with sleep-related GWAS traits, including sleep duration and insomnia. Collectively, our findings connect transcriptional rhythm changes in opioidergic, dopaminergic, GABAergic signaling in the human brain to sleep-related traits in opioid addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangning Xue
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Wei Zong
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - Jill R. Glausier
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Sam-Moon Kim
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Micah A. Shelton
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - BaDoi N. Phan
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Chaitanya Srinivasan
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - Andreas R. Pfenning
- grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA ,grid.147455.60000 0001 2097 0344Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
| | - George C. Tseng
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 USA
| | - David A. Lewis
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Marianne L. Seney
- grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA ,grid.21925.3d0000 0004 1936 9000Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
| | - Ryan W. Logan
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118 USA ,grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118 USA
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Exploring Pharmacological Functions of Alternatively Spliced Variants of the Mu Opioid Receptor Gene, Oprm1, via Gene-Targeted Animal Models. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23063010. [PMID: 35328429 PMCID: PMC8950057 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23063010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The mu opioid receptor has a distinct place in the opioid receptor family, since it mediates the actions of most opioids used clinically (e.g., morphine and fentanyl), as well as drugs of abuse (e.g., heroin). The single-copy mu opioid receptor gene, OPRM1, goes through extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing to generate numerous splice variants that are conserved from rodents to humans. These OPRM1 splice variants can be classified into three structurally distinct types: (1) full-length 7 transmembrane (TM) carboxyl (C)-terminal variants; (2) truncated 6TM variants; and (3) single TM variants. Distinct pharmacological functions of these splice variants have been demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo studies, particularly by using several unique gene-targeted mouse models. These studies provide new insights into our understanding of the complex actions of mu opioids with regard to OPRM1 alternative splicing. This review provides an overview of the studies that used these gene-targeted mouse models for exploring the functional importance of Oprm1 splice variants.
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Zhang R, Dang W, Zhang J, He R, Li G, Zhang L, Wang Z, Zong H, Liu N, Jia W. Methylation quantitative locus rs3758653 in the DRD4 gene is associated with duration from first heroin exposure to addiction. Brain Res 2022; 1775:147746. [PMID: 34864042 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Opioid addiction is a chronic brain disease with a high heritability. However, the genetic underpinnings remain uncertain. DNA methylation is involved in the adaptive changes in neuroplasticity after prolonged drug use. The dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) has an essential role in the reward processes associated with addictive drugs. To further elucidate the potential role and mechanism of the DRD4 gene variants in heroin addiction, we detected the methylation level of 46 CpG sites in the promoter region and the genotypes of three SNPs in the DRD4 gene. Correlations between the SNPs and methylation levels of the CpG sites, i.e., the analysis of methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) was conducted. Following the identification of mQTLs that are unique in the heroin addiction group, we performed an association study between the mQTLs and traits of heroin addiction. Our results revealed that there were several correlations of SNPs rs3758653 and rs11246226 with the methylation levels of some CpG sites in the DRD4 gene. Among these SNP-CpG pairs, rs3758653-DRD4_04, rs3758653-DRD4_05, rs3758653-DRD4_13 and rs3758653-DRD4_03 were unique in the heroin addiction group. Moreover, we found that mQTL rs3758653 was associated with duration from first heroin exposure to addiction, and the expression level of the DRD4 gene in human brain regions of the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Our findings suggested that some mQTLs in the genome may be associated with traits of opioid addiction through implicating the processes of DNA methylation and gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Dang
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Jianbo Zhang
- Key Laboratory of National Health Commission for Forensic Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ruifeng He
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Guibin Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Luying Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhikang Wang
- Psychiatry Department, Xi'an Daxing Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Hua Zong
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ning Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wei Jia
- Department of Psychiatry, Xi'an Mental Health Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
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11
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Leduc-Pessah H, Trang T. Tackling the opioid crisis: Novel mechanisms and clinical perspectives. J Neurosci Res 2021; 100:5-9. [PMID: 34672010 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Heather Leduc-Pessah
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Tuan Trang
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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12
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Seney ML, Kim SM, Glausier JR, Hildebrand MA, Xue X, Zong W, Wang J, Shelton MA, Phan BN, Srinivasan C, Pfenning AR, Tseng GC, Lewis DA, Freyberg Z, Logan RW. Transcriptional Alterations in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens Implicate Neuroinflammation and Synaptic Remodeling in Opioid Use Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:550-562. [PMID: 34380600 PMCID: PMC8463497 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prevalence rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) have increased dramatically, accompanied by a surge of overdose deaths. While opioid dependence has been extensively studied in preclinical models, an understanding of the biological alterations that occur in the brains of people who chronically use opioids and who are diagnosed with OUD remains limited. To address this limitation, RNA sequencing was conducted on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, regions heavily implicated in OUD, from postmortem brains in subjects with OUD. METHODS We performed RNA sequencing on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens from unaffected comparison subjects (n = 20) and subjects diagnosed with OUD (n = 20). Our transcriptomic analyses identified differentially expressed transcripts and investigated the transcriptional coherence between brain regions using rank-rank hypergeometric orderlap. Weighted gene coexpression analyses identified OUD-specific modules and gene networks. Integrative analyses between differentially expressed transcripts and genome-wide association study datasets using linkage disequilibrium scores assessed the genetic liability of psychiatric-related phenotypes in OUD. RESULTS Rank-rank hypergeometric overlap analyses revealed extensive overlap in transcripts between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens in OUD, related to synaptic remodeling and neuroinflammation. Identified transcripts were enriched for factors that control proinflammatory cytokine, chondroitin sulfate, and extracellular matrix signaling. Cell-type deconvolution implicated a role for microglia as a potential driver for opioid-induced neuroplasticity. Linkage disequilibrium score analysis suggested genetic liabilities for risky behavior, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression in subjects with OUD. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our findings suggest connections between the brain's immune system and opioid dependence in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne L Seney
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Sam-Moon Kim
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms, and Sleep, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine
| | - Jill R Glausier
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Mariah A Hildebrand
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Xiangning Xue
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Wei Zong
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Jiebiao Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Micah A Shelton
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - BaDoi N Phan
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Chaitanya Srinivasan
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Andreas R Pfenning
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - George C Tseng
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - David A Lewis
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Zachary Freyberg
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ryan W Logan
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine; Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
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13
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Liu S, Kang WJ, Abrimian A, Xu J, Cartegni L, Majumdar S, Hesketh P, Bekker A, Pan YX. Alternative Pre-mRNA Splicing of the Mu Opioid Receptor Gene, OPRM1: Insight into Complex Mu Opioid Actions. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11101525. [PMID: 34680158 PMCID: PMC8534031 DOI: 10.3390/biom11101525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Most opioid analgesics used clinically, including morphine and fentanyl, as well as the recreational drug heroin, act primarily through the mu opioid receptor, a class A Rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). The single-copy mu opioid receptor gene, OPRM1, undergoes extensive alternative splicing, creating multiple splice variants or isoforms via a variety of alternative splicing events. These OPRM1 splice variants can be categorized into three major types based on the receptor structure: (1) full-length 7 transmembrane (TM) C-terminal variants; (2) truncated 6TM variants; and (3) single TM variants. Increasing evidence suggests that these OPRM1 splice variants are pharmacologically important in mediating the distinct actions of various mu opioids. More importantly, the OPRM1 variants can be targeted for development of novel opioid analgesics that are potent against multiple types of pain, but devoid of many side-effects associated with traditional opiates. In this review, we provide an overview of OPRM1 alternative splicing and its functional relevance in opioid pharmacology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Wen-Jia Kang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Anna Abrimian
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Jin Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Luca Cartegni
- Department of Chemical Biology, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;
| | - Susruta Majumdar
- Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA;
| | - Patrick Hesketh
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Alex Bekker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
| | - Ying-Xian Pan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (S.L.); (W.-J.K.); (A.A.); (J.X.); (P.H.); (A.B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-973-972-3213
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14
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Rossi GC, Bodnar RJ. Interactive Mechanisms of Supraspinal Sites of Opioid Analgesic Action: A Festschrift to Dr. Gavril W. Pasternak. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2021; 41:863-897. [PMID: 32970288 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-020-00961-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Almost a half century of research has elaborated the discoveries of the central mechanisms governing the analgesic responses of opiates, including their receptors, endogenous peptides, genes and their putative spinal and supraspinal sites of action. One of the central tenets of "gate-control theories of pain" was the activation of descending supraspinal sites by opiate drugs and opioid peptides thereby controlling further noxious input. This review in the Special Issue dedicated to the research of Dr. Gavril Pasternak indicates his contributions to the understanding of supraspinal mediation of opioid analgesic action within the context of the large body of work over this period. This review will examine (a) the relevant supraspinal sites mediating opioid analgesia, (b) the opioid receptor subtypes and opioid peptides involved, (c) supraspinal site analgesic interactions and their underlying neurophysiology, (d) molecular (particularly AS) tools identifying opioid receptor actions, and (e) relevant physiological variables affecting site-specific opioid analgesia. This review will build on classic initial studies, specify the contributions that Gavril Pasternak and his colleagues did in this specific area, and follow through with studies up to the present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace C Rossi
- Department of Psychology, C.W. Post College, Long Island University, Post Campus, Brookville, NY, USA.
| | - Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology, Queens College of the City University of New York, Flushing, NY, USA
- CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, USA
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15
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Abrimian A, Kraft T, Pan YX. Endogenous Opioid Peptides and Alternatively Spliced Mu Opioid Receptor Seven Transmembrane Carboxyl-Terminal Variants. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:3779. [PMID: 33917474 PMCID: PMC8038826 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
There exist three main types of endogenous opioid peptides, enkephalins, dynorphins and β-endorphin, all of which are derived from their precursors. These endogenous opioid peptides act through opioid receptors, including mu opioid receptor (MOR), delta opioid receptor (DOR) and kappa opioid receptor (KOR), and play important roles not only in analgesia, but also many other biological processes such as reward, stress response, feeding and emotion. The MOR gene, OPRM1, undergoes extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing, generating multiple splice variants or isoforms. One type of these splice variants, the full-length 7 transmembrane (TM) Carboxyl (C)-terminal variants, has the same receptor structures but contains different intracellular C-terminal tails. The pharmacological functions of several endogenous opioid peptides through the mouse, rat and human OPRM1 7TM C-terminal variants have been considerably investigated together with various mu opioid ligands. The current review focuses on the studies of these endogenous opioid peptides and summarizes the results from early pharmacological studies, including receptor binding affinity and G protein activation, and recent studies of β-arrestin2 recruitment and biased signaling, aiming to provide new insights into the mechanisms and functions of endogenous opioid peptides, which are mediated through the OPRM1 7TM C-terminal splice variants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ying-Xian Pan
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA; (A.A.); (T.K.)
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16
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Islam A, Rahman MA, Brenner MB, Moore A, Kellmyer A, Buechler HM, DiGiorgio F, Verchio VR, McCracken L, Sumi M, Hartley R, Lizza JR, Moura-Letts G, Fischer BD, Keck TM. Abuse Liability, Anti-Nociceptive, and Discriminative Stimulus Properties of IBNtxA. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2020; 3:907-920. [DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Bradford D. Fischer
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 401 Broadway, Camden, New Jersey 08103, United States
| | - Thomas M. Keck
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 401 Broadway, Camden, New Jersey 08103, United States
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17
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Narayan A, Hunkele A, Xu J, Bassoni DL, Pasternak GW, Pan YX. Mu Opioids Induce Biased Signaling at the Full-Length Seven Transmembrane C-Terminal Splice Variants of the mu Opioid Receptor Gene, Oprm1. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2020; 41:1059-1074. [PMID: 33033993 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-020-00973-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The biased signaling has been extensively studied in the original mu opioid receptor (MOR-1), particularly through G protein and β-arrestin2 signaling pathways. The concept that the G protein pathway is often linked to the therapeutic effect of the drug, while the β-arrestin pathway is associated to the side effects has been proposed to develop biased analgesic compounds with limited side-effects associated with traditional opiates. The mu opioid receptor gene, OPRM1, undergoes extensive alternative pre-mRNA splicing, generating multiple splice variants or isoforms that are conserved from rodent to human. One type of the Oprm1 splice variants are the full-length 7 transmembrane (7TM) C-terminal splice variants, which have identical receptor structures including entire binding pocket, but contain a different intracellular C-terminal tail resulted from 3' alternative splicing. Increasing evidence suggest that these full-length 7TM C-terminal variants play important roles in mu opioid pharmacology, raising questions regarding biased signaling at these multiple C-terminal variants. In the present study, we investigated the effect of different C-terminal variants on mu agonist-induced G protein coupling, β-arrestin2 recruitment, and ultimately, signaling bias. We found that mu agonists produced marked differences in G protein activation and β-arrestin2 recruitment among various C-terminal variants, leading to biased signaling at various level. Particularly, MOR-1O, an exon 7-associated variant, showed greater β-arrestin2 bias for most mu agonists than MOR-1, an exon 4-associated variant. Biased signaling of G protein-coupled receptors has been defined by evidences that different agonists can produce divergent signaling transduction pathways through a single receptor. Our findings that a single mu agonist can induce differential signaling through multiple 7TM splice variants provide a new perspective on biased signaling at least for Oprm1, which perhaps is important for our understanding of the complex mu opioid actions in vivo where all the 7TM splice variants co-exist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Narayan
- Department of Neurology and the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Amanda Hunkele
- Department of Neurology and the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jin Xu
- Department of Neurology and the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | | | - Gavril W Pasternak
- Department of Neurology and the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Ying-Xian Pan
- Department of Neurology and the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
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18
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Zhang H, Sun M, Zhou D, Gorur A, Sun Z, Zeng W, Cata JP, Chen W, Miao C. Increased mu-opioid receptor expression is associated with reduced disease-free and overall survival in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Anaesth 2020; 125:722-729. [PMID: 32900505 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2020.07.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Expression of the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) is associated with poor long-term outcomes in various types of cancer. The association between MOR expression and clinical outcomes in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is not clear. METHODS This retrospective study included patients who underwent laryngectomy for LSCC. The expression pattern of the MOR protein and OPRM1 gene in tumours and corresponding adjacent non-carcinoma specimens was measured. Propensity score matching was used to minimise bias. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary endpoints were intraoperative sufentanil consumption, grade of surgical complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification, and hospital length of stay. RESULTS A total of 207 LSCC patients were enrolled. After propensity score matching, there was a significant difference in DFS between groups at 1, 3, and 5 yr (60.2% vs 81.2%, P=0.019; 39.4% vs 50.2%, P=0.026; 37.5% vs 42.5%, P=0.023, respectively) in patients with high MOR expression. The OS rates at 1, 3, and 5 yr were significantly lower in the high MOR expression group (81.2% vs 93.2%, P=0.027; 57.7% vs 78.3%, P<0.001; 42.5% vs 60.3%, P<0.001, respectively). The multivariate analysis indicated that high MOR expression was associated with worse DFS and OS (hazard ratio: 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.07, 2.25, P=0.034; hazard ratio: 1.42, 95% confidence interval: 1.17, 2.34, P=0.032). CONCLUSION High MOR expression may be associated with poor prognosis in patients with LSCC, suggesting that MOR could be used as a valuable molecular biomarker to predict prognosis of LSCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of Anaesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Minli Sun
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Di Zhou
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Aysegul Gorur
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Anaesthesiology and Surgical Oncology Research Group, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Zhirong Sun
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Centre, Shanghai, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weian Zeng
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Centre for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Juan P Cata
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Anaesthesiology and Surgical Oncology Research Group, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Wankun Chen
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of Anaesthesiology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Centre, Shanghai, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Changhong Miao
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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