Structural Determinants of Buprenorphine Partial Agonism at the μ-Opioid Receptor.

ABSTRACT: The μ-opioid receptor (μOR) is a class A G Protein-Coupled Receptor (GPCR) targeted by natural and synthetic ligands to provide analgesia to patients with pain of various etiologies. Available opioid medications present several unwanted side effects, stressing the need for safer pain therapies. Despite the attractive proposal that biasing μOR signaling toward G protein pathways would lead to fewer side effects, recent studies indicate that low-efficacy opioid drugs, such as buprenorphine, may represent a safer alternative. In the present work, we combine molecular docking, microsecond-time scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and metadynamics to investigate the conformational dynamics of the μOR bound to morphine or buprenorphine. Our objective was to determine structural aspects ass

SUBMITTER: Gomes AAS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12117568 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature