Effects of hypophysectomy and ACTH on opiate tolerance and physical dependence

Suppressed fever and hypersensitivity responses in chicks prenatally exposed to opiates

We have established procedures to reliably induce opiate dependence in the chick embryo via in ovo injection, early in embryonic development, of the long-acting and potent opiate N-desmethyl-l-alpha-noracetylmethadol (NLAAM). Prior studies found that there is continual exposure to NLAAM throughout embryogenesis and shortly after hatching there are signs of spontaneous withdrawal. In the present study, we used three doses of NLAAM (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg egg weight) to determine if prenatal opiate exposure followed by postnatal withdrawal interfered with appropriate neural-endocrine-immune interactions in the young chick. To ensure that effects were not a consequence of inappropriately large doses, we first examined acute and chronic toxicity and additional characteristics of postnatal opiate withdrawal. We then measured the corticosterone and fever responses to LPS stimulation during the withdrawal period. After the conclusion of opiate withdrawal, we assessed the hypersensitivity response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The fever response to LPS and the hypersensitivity response to PHA were suppressed by prenatal opiate exposure and postnatal withdrawal. The corticosterone response to LPS was not affected, but there were exaggerated corticosterone responses to saline injection in chicks exposed in ovo to NLAAM. It was unlikely that the effects of prenatal NLAAM were the result of toxicity, as little chronic toxicity was seen with the lower two doses of NLAAM, doses that yielded significant suppressions of neural-endocrine-immune responses. However, effects found in the chicks treated with 10 mg NLAAM/kg may have been partly related to the greater toxicity and/or protracted postnatal withdrawal in this group.

Targeted disruption of the orphanin FQ/nociceptin gene increases stress susceptibility and impairs stress adaptation in mice

The neuropeptide orphanin FQ (also known as nociceptin; OFQ/N) has been implicated in modulating stress-related behavior. OFQ/N was demonstrated to reverse stress-induced analgesia and possess anxiolytic-like activity after central administration. To further study physiological functions of OFQ/N, we have generated OFQ/N-deficient mice by targeted disruption of the OFQ/N gene. Homozygous mice display increased anxiety-like behavior when exposed to a novel and threatening environment. OFQ/N-null mice show elevated basal pain threshold but develop normal stress-induced analgesia. Interestingly, these mice show impaired adaptation to repeated stress when compared with wild-type mice, whereas their performance in spatial learning remained unaffected. Basal and poststress plasma corticosterone levels were found to be elevated in OFQ/N-deficient animals. Thus, OFQ/N appears to be crucially involved in the neurobiological regulation of stress-coping behavior and fear.

The role of corticosterone in the blockade of tolerance to morphine analgesia by formalin-induced pain in the rat

We previously reported that morphine fails to produce analgesic tolerance when administered in the presence of formalin-induced pain, which may be related to activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In the present study, we examined whether suppression of corticosterone secretion during pain prevents the blockade of tolerance to morphine analgesia. Male Long-Evans rats were injected with morphine (20 mg/kg) or saline for 4 consecutive days in the presence or absence of formalin-induced pain. To suppress corticosterone activity, some animals were injected daily with the corticosterone synthesis inhibitor, metyrapone (100 mg/kg), 24 h and 30 min before formalin injections. The analgesic effect of a test dose of morphine (10 mg/kg) was then measured in the tail-flick test 24 h after tolerance induction (i.e. day 5). The presence of pain during tolerance induction prevented the development of analgesic tolerance. Furthermore, inhibition of corticosterone synthesis by metyrapone prevented the blockade of tolerance by pain. These results suggest that the blockade of tolerance to morphine analgesia by formalin-induced pain depends on stress-induced corticosterone increases.

Blockade of tolerance to stress-induced analgesia by MK-801 in mice

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been implicated in mechanisms of tolerance to morphine-induced analgesia. The present study examined the role of the NMDA receptor in the development of tolerance to stress-induced analgesia (SIA). In the first experiment, mice were exposed to a stressor (a 3-min forced swim in water maintained at 32 degrees C) once daily for 15 consecutive days. Analgesia was measured 2 min after stress on the first and last day using the hot-plate test. To examine the role of the NMDA receptor in the development of tolerance to SIA mice were treated daily with the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, 15 min before swimming. Pretreatment with MK-801 was found to block both analgesia and tolerance. In a second experiment, to examine whether SIA and tolerance to SIA are mediated by similar or different mechanisms, mice were injected daily with MK-801 after analgesia had dissipated (1 h following swim). Tolerance to SIA was blocked by delayed injections of MK-801. These results suggest that the NMDA receptor is involved in mechanisms of tolerance to SIA, independent of its role in analgesia.

Effect of adrenal and sex hormones on opioid analgesia and opioid receptor regulation

The role of endocrine factors on opioid analgesia (antinociception) and opioid receptors was studied in male and female Swiss-Webster mice. Morphine was more potent in male than in female mice, although this difference appears to be due to greater availability of morphine to the brain in males. Saturation binding studies indicated that the density and affinity of brain mu- and delta-opioid binding sites were equivalent in males and females. Males and females were implanted SC with naltrexone (NTX) or placebo pellets for 8 days, and then the pellets were removed. This treatment increased the density of mu and delta binding sites in brain and increased the potency of morphine for both sexes, although the increase in antinociceptive effects for males was greater than for females. Adrenalectomy (ADX) in male mice increased the potency of morphine and methadone but did not alter the brain levels of either drug. ADX did not alter brain opioid binding of either mu or delta ligands. When male ADX and control mice were treated with NTX, the potency of morphine and brain opioid binding sites were increased equivalently in both groups. Gonadectomy (GDX) in male mice tended to decrease morphine potency, although this was not found to be a very reliable effect. When male GDX and control mice were implanted with NTX, brain opioid binding was increased similarly in both groups, although morphine potency was increased less in GDX mice. Overall, these studies show that sex differences and hormones of the adrenals and gonads in male mice do not alter brain opioid receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Chronic administration of morphine and naltrexone up-regulate[3H][D-Ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin binding sites by different mechanisms

Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic administration of morphine up-regulated the lower affinity binding site for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin, without producing a detectable alteration in the higher affinity binding site for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin (Rothman et al., Eur. J. Pharmac. 124: 113-119, 1986). The experiments reported in this paper tested the hypothesis that chronic administration of morphine and naltrexone up-regulated the binding sites for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin by different mechanisms. Rats were given either morphine or naltrexone chronically. Chronic administration of morphine up-regulated the lower affinity site, while chronic administration of naltrexone up-regulated both the higher and lower affinity binding sites for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin. Unlike the lower affinity binding site for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin present in membranes prepared from rats treated with placebo pellets, the lower affinity binding sites which were up-regulated by naltrexone and morphine were partially (naltrexone) or completely (morphine) labile to preincubation for 60 min at 25 degrees C in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, containing 0.4 M NaCl. These data suggest that chronic administration of morphine and naltrexone up-regulate binding sites for [3H][D-ala2,D-leu5]enkephalin through different mechanisms, and that the lower affinity binding sites for [3H][D-ala2, D-leu5]enkephalin which are up-regulated by chronic administration of morphine and naltrexone might differ biochemically from the lower affinity binding sites present in membranes treated with placebo.

Endocrine influences on the actions of morphine: IV. Effects of sex and strain

The antinociceptive and temperature responses to morphine were compared in male and female rats from two different strains. Males of both the Sprague-Dawley and Wistar-Furth strains were slightly more responsive to the acute actions of morphine than were females of the same strain. However, Wistar-Furth animals required approximately twice the dose of morphine to display equivalent antinociceptive responses and four times the dose of display equivalent hypothermic responses when compared with Sprague-Dawley animals. During chronic morphine treatment, the development of tolerance was slightly more rapid in males than in females and in Sprague-Dawley animals than in Wistar-Furth animals. Gonadal hormones also influenced morphine responses. Ovariectomized rats were significantly more responsive acutely to morphine and developed tolerance less rapidly than estradiol-treated females. However, alterations of gonadal hormones in males did not affect morphine responses. These results indicate that morphine responses vary considerably between strains of animals and are influenced by gonadal hormones of females, but not of males.

Arginine vasopressin enhances retention of morphine tolerance

The hot plate method was used to assess tolerance in rats following daily injections of morphine. Following analgesia assessment, or a time equated rest period, rats were injected with either saline or a pituitary peptide. Arginine vasopressin, but not ACTH 4-10, prolonged the retention of morphine tolerance when assessed five weeks after the last injection. Neither the rate nor the degree of tolerance development were influenced by either peptide. These hormones had no effect on retention of tolerance development were influenced by either peptide. These hormones had no effect on retention of tolerance in rats not assessed for analgesia during the period of tolerance development. The effects of pituitary peptides on morphine tolerance are analogous to the effects they have on learning and memory processes, suggesting that similar adaptational processes are occurring in both phenomena.

Adrenal medullary enkephalin-like peptides may mediate opioid stress analgesia

Different patterns of fact shock activate opioid and nonopioid mechanisms of stress analgesia in the rat. Opioid, but not nonopioid, stress analgesia is reduced by adrenal demedullation and denervation and is potentiated by reserpine, a drug known to increase concentrations of adrenal medullary enkephalin-like peptides. It is suggested that adrenal enkephalins mediate opioid stress analgesia.

Peptides and thermoregulation

Several peptides are now known to affect thermoregulation. These include beta-endorphin, bombesin, MIF-I, alpha-MSH, neurotensin, TRH, and DSIP. Some of these have been found to interact with the thermal effects of d-amphetamine, a drug with well established actions on thermoregulation. The effects of morphine on body temperature provide some notable comparisons with beta-endorphin, as do the similarities between the effects of naloxone and MIF-I. In general, it seems that two of the major variables which interact and modify the thermal effects of peptides are ambient temperature and route of administration.

Neuropeptide modulation of opiate and ethanol tolerance and dependence

Evidence exists to suggest that there are neurochemical responses common to the development of tolerance to and dependence on a variety of psychoactive drugs. Experimental data indicates that pituitary peptides such as corticotropin and vasopressin, in addition to the endorphins, influence the development of physical dependence on either morphine or ethanol. If these findings are supported by further investigations with human subjects, various manipulations of pituitary-adrenal function, such as the administration of corticotropin and vasopressin analogs or drugs such as dexamethasone, may prove to be of clinical utility.

Changes in body temperature after administration of acetylcholine, histamine, morphine, prostaglandins and related agents

This survey, the second in a series, presents extensive tabulations of literature, primarily since 1965, on thermoregulatory effects of cholinergic agonists and antagonists, histamine and H1- and H2-receptor antagonists, narcotic analgesics and antagonists in both non-tolerant and tolerant subjects and of prostaglandins and related agents. The information listed includes the species used, route of administration and dose of drug, the environmental temperature at which the experiments were performed, the number of tests, the direction and magnitude of body temperature change and remarks on the presence of special conditions, such as age or lesions, or on the influence of other drugs, such as antagonists, on the response to the primary drug.