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Levinstein MR, De Oliveira PA, Casajuana-Martin N, Quiroz C, Budinich RC, Rais R, Rea W, Ventriglia EN, Llopart N, Casadó-Anguera V, Moreno E, Walther D, Glatfelter GC, Weinshenker D, Zarate CA, Casadó V, Baumann MH, Pardo L, Ferré S, Michaelides M. Unique pharmacodynamic properties and low abuse liability of the µ-opioid receptor ligand (S)-methadone. Mol Psychiatry 2023:10.1038/s41380-023-02353-z. [PMID: 38145984 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02353-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
(R,S)-methadone ((R,S)-MTD) is a µ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist comprised of (R)-MTD and (S)-MTD enantiomers. (S)-MTD is being developed as an antidepressant and is considered an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist. We compared the pharmacology of (R)-MTD and (S)-MTD and found they bind to MORs, but not NMDARs, and induce full analgesia. Unlike (R)-MTD, (S)-MTD was a weak reinforcer that failed to affect extracellular dopamine or induce locomotor stimulation. Furthermore, (S)-MTD antagonized motor and dopamine releasing effects of (R)-MTD. (S)-MTD acted as a partial agonist at MOR, with complete loss of efficacy at the MOR-galanin Gal1 receptor (Gal1R) heteromer, a key mediator of the dopaminergic effects of opioids. In sum, we report novel and unique pharmacodynamic properties of (S)-MTD that are relevant to its potential mechanism of action and therapeutic use. One-sentence summary: (S)-MTD, like (R)-MTD, binds to and activates MORs in vitro, but (S)-MTD antagonizes the MOR-Gal1R heteromer, decreasing its abuse liability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie R Levinstein
- Biobehavioral Imaging and Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Paulo A De Oliveira
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Nil Casajuana-Martin
- Laboratory of Computational Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cesar Quiroz
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Reece C Budinich
- Biobehavioral Imaging and Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Rana Rais
- Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Neurology and Pharmacology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - William Rea
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Emilya N Ventriglia
- Biobehavioral Imaging and Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Natàlia Llopart
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Verònica Casadó-Anguera
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Estefanía Moreno
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Donna Walther
- Designer Drug Research Unit, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Grant C Glatfelter
- Designer Drug Research Unit, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - David Weinshenker
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Carlos A Zarate
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Vicent Casadó
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michael H Baumann
- Designer Drug Research Unit, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Leonardo Pardo
- Laboratory of Computational Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Ferré
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA.
| | - Michael Michaelides
- Biobehavioral Imaging and Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
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De Oliveira PA, Moreno E, Casajuana-Martin N, Casadó-Anguera V, Cai NS, Camacho-Hernandez GA, Zhu H, Bonifazi A, Hall MD, Weinshenker D, Newman AH, Logothetis DE, Casadó V, Plant LD, Pardo L, Ferré S. Preferential Gs protein coupling of the galanin Gal 1 receptor in the µ-opioid-Gal 1 receptor heterotetramer. Pharmacol Res 2022; 182:106322. [PMID: 35750299 PMCID: PMC9462584 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have proposed that heteromers of µ-opioid receptors (MORs) and galanin Gal1 receptors (Gal1Rs) localized in the mesencephalon mediate the dopaminergic effects of opioids. The present study reports converging evidence, using a peptide-interfering approach combined with biophysical and biochemical techniques, including total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, for a predominant homodimeric structure of MOR and Gal1R when expressed individually, and for their preference to form functional heterotetramers when co-expressed. Results show that a heteromerization-dependent change in the Gal1R homodimeric interface leads to a switch in G-protein coupling from inhibitory Gi to stimulatory Gs proteins. The MOR-Gal1R heterotetramer, which is thus bound to Gs via the Gal1R homodimer and Gi via the MOR homodimer, provides the framework for a canonical Gs-Gi antagonist interaction at the adenylyl cyclase level. These novel results shed light on the intense debate about the oligomeric quaternary structure of G protein-coupled receptors, their predilection for heteromer formation, and the resulting functional significance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Estefanía Moreno
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nil Casajuana-Martin
- Laboratory of Computational Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Verònica Casadó-Anguera
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Gisela Andrea Camacho-Hernandez
- Medicinal Chemistry Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hu Zhu
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Alessandro Bonifazi
- Medicinal Chemistry Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthew D Hall
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - David Weinshenker
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Amy Hauck Newman
- Medicinal Chemistry Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Diomedes E Logothetis
- Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Drug Discovery, School of Pharmacy at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences and College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vicent Casadó
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Biology and Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Leigh D Plant
- Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Center for Drug Discovery, School of Pharmacy at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences and College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Leonardo Pardo
- Laboratory of Computational Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
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