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Rehrauer KJ, Cunningham CW. IUPHAR Review - Bivalent and bifunctional opioid receptor ligands as novel analgesics. Pharmacol Res 2023; 197:106966. [PMID: 37865129 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
Though efficacious in managing chronic, severe pain, opioid analgesics are accompanied by significant adverse effects including constipation, tolerance, dependence, and respiratory depression. The life-threatening risks associated with µ opioid receptor agonist-based analgesics challenges their use in clinic. A rational approach to combatting these adverse effects is to develop agents that incorporate activity at a second pharmacologic target in addition to µ opioid receptor activation. The promise of such bivalent or bifunctional ligands is the development of an analgesic with an improved side effect profile. In this review, we highlight ongoing efforts in the development of bivalent and bifunctional analgesics that combine µ agonism with efficacy at κ and δ opioid receptors, the nociceptin opioid peptide (NOP) receptor, σ receptors, and cannabinoid receptors. Several examples of bifunctional analgesics in preclinical and clinical development are highlighted, as are strategies being employed toward the rational design of novel agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J Rehrauer
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon, WI 53092, USA
| | - Christopher W Cunningham
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon, WI 53092, USA; CUW Center for Structure-Based Drug Discovery and Development, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon, WI 53092, USA.
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Olson KM, Devereaux AL, Chatterjee P, Saldaña-Shumaker SL, Shafer A, Plotkin A, Kandasamy R, MacKerell AD, Traynor JR, Cunningham CW. Nitro-benzylideneoxymorphone, a bifunctional mu and delta opioid receptor ligand with high mu opioid receptor efficacy. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1230053. [PMID: 37469877 PMCID: PMC10352325 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1230053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: There is a major societal need for analgesics with less tolerance, dependence, and abuse liability. Preclinical rodent studies suggest that bifunctional ligands with both mu (MOPr) and delta (DOPr) opioid peptide receptor activity may produce analgesia with reduced tolerance and other side effects. This study explores the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of our previously reported MOPr/DOPr lead, benzylideneoxymorphone (BOM) with C7-methylene-substituted analogs. Methods: Analogs were synthesized and tested in vitro for opioid receptor binding and efficacy. One compound, nitro-BOM (NBOM, 12) was evaluated for antinociceptive effects in the warm water tail withdrawal assay in C57BL/6 mice. Acute and chronic antinociception was determined, as was toxicologic effects on chronic administration. Molecular modeling experiments were performed using the Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation (SILCS) method. Results: NBOM was found to be a potent MOPr agonist/DOPr partial agonist that produces high-efficacy antinociception. Antinociceptive tolerance was observed, as was weight loss; this toxicity was only observed with NBOM and not with BOM. Modeling supports the hypothesis that the increased MOPr efficacy of NBOM is due to the substituted benzylidene ring occupying a nonpolar region within the MOPr agonist state. Discussion: Though antinociceptive tolerance and non-specific toxicity was observed on repeated administration, NBOM provides an important new tool for understanding MOPr/DOPr pharmacology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith M. Olson
- Department of Pharmacology and Edward F. Domino Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Andrea L. Devereaux
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Mequon, WI, United States
| | - Payal Chatterjee
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Savanah L. Saldaña-Shumaker
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Mequon, WI, United States
| | - Amanda Shafer
- Department of Pharmacology and Edward F. Domino Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Adam Plotkin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Mequon, WI, United States
| | - Ram Kandasamy
- Department of Pharmacology and Edward F. Domino Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Psychology, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA, United States
| | - Alexander D. MacKerell
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - John R. Traynor
- Department of Pharmacology and Edward F. Domino Research Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Christopher W. Cunningham
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, Mequon, WI, United States
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Mazzeo F, Meccariello R, Guatteo E. Molecular and Epigenetic Aspects of Opioid Receptors in Drug Addiction and Pain Management in Sport. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24097831. [PMID: 37175536 PMCID: PMC10178540 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24097831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Opioids are substances derived from opium (natural opioids). In its raw state, opium is a gummy latex extracted from Papaver somniferum. The use of opioids and their negative health consequences among people who use drugs have been studied. Today, opioids are still the most commonly used and effective analgesic treatments for severe pain, but their use and abuse causes detrimental side effects for health, including addiction, thus impacting the user's quality of life and causing overdose. The mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic circuitry represents the brain circuit mediating both natural rewards and the rewarding aspects of nearly all drugs of abuse, including opioids. Hence, understanding how opioids affect the function of dopaminergic circuitry may be useful for better knowledge of the process and to develop effective therapeutic strategies in addiction. The aim of this review was to summarize the main features of opioids and opioid receptors and focus on the molecular and upcoming epigenetic mechanisms leading to opioid addiction. Since synthetic opioids can be effective for pain management, their ability to induce addiction in athletes, with the risk of incurring doping, is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filomena Mazzeo
- Department of Economics, Law, Cybersecurity and Sports Sciences, University of Naples "Parthenope", 80133 Naples, Italy
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Naples "Parthenope", 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Rosaria Meccariello
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Naples "Parthenope", 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Ezia Guatteo
- Department of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Naples "Parthenope", 80133 Naples, Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy
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Bodnar RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2021. Peptides 2023; 164:171004. [PMID: 36990387 DOI: 10.1016/j.peptides.2023.171004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
This paper is the forty-fourth consecutive installment of the annual anthological review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system, summarizing articles published during 2021 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides and receptors as well as effects of opioid/opiate agonizts 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, CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367, USA.
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Talluri B, Hoelzel F, Medda BK, Terashvili M, Sanvanson P, Shaker R, Banerjee A, Sengupta JN, Banerjee B. Identification and characterization of rostral ventromedial medulla neurons synaptically connected to the urinary bladder afferents in female rats with or without neonatal cystitis. J Comp Neurol 2021; 530:1129-1147. [PMID: 34628661 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25260] [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: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) play a major role in pain modulation. We have previously shown that early-life noxious bladder stimuli in rats resulted in an overall spinal GABAergic disinhibition and a long-lasting bladder/colon sensitization when tested in adulthood. However, the neuromolecular alterations within RVM neurons in the pathophysiology of early life bladder inflammation have not been elucidated. In this study, we have identified and characterized RVM neurons that are synaptically linked to the bladder and colon and examined the effect of neonatal bladder inflammation on molecular expressions of these neurons. A transient bladder inflammation was induced by intravesicular instillation of protamine sulfate and zymosan during postnatal days 14 through 16 (P14-16) followed by pseudorabies virus PRV-152 and PRV-614 injections into the bladder and colon, respectively, on postnatal day P60. Tissues were examined 96 h postinoculation for serotonergic, GABAergic, and enkephalinergic expressions using in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemistry techniques. The results revealed that > 50% of RVM neurons that are synaptically connected to the bladder (i.e., PRV-152+) were GABAergic, 40% enkephalinergic, and about 14% expressing serotonergic marker tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TpH2). Neonatal cystitis resulted in a significant increase in converging neurons in RVM receiving dual synaptic inputs from the bladder and colon. In addition, neonatal cystitis significantly downregulated vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) with a concomitant increase in TpH2 expression in bladder-linked RVM neurons, suggesting an alteration in supraspinal signaling. These alterations of synaptic connectivity and GABAergic/serotonergic expressions in RVM neurons may contribute to bladder pain modulation and cross-organ visceral sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhavana Talluri
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Faith Hoelzel
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Bidyut K Medda
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Maia Terashvili
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Patrick Sanvanson
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Reza Shaker
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Anjishnu Banerjee
- Division of Biostatistics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jyoti N Sengupta
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Banani Banerjee
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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