Cloning and bioinformatics of amphibian mu, delta, kappa, and nociceptin opioid receptors expressed in brain tissue: evidence for opioid receptor divergence in mammals.

ABSTRACT: Opioid agonists produce analgesia in humans and other mammals by binding to three distinct types of G protein-coupled receptors; mu (MOR), delta (DOR), and kappa (KOR) opioid receptors. A fourth member of the opioid receptor family is the nociceptin or orphanin FQ receptor (ORL), however the role of the ORL receptor in analgesia is less clear. In the Northern grass frog, Rana pipiens, systemic and central administration of morphine and selective MOR, DOR, and KOR agonists produced dose-dependent antinociceptive effects blocked by the general opioid antagonist, naltrexone. The present study reports on the sequence, expression, and bioinformatics of four opioid receptor cDNAs cloned from Rana pipiens; rpMOR, rpDOR, rpKOR, and rpORL. These were the first opioid receptors cloned from a species

SUBMITTER: Stevens CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3075437 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature