Phosphorylation of unique C-terminal sites of the mu-opioid receptor variants 1B2 and 1C1 influences their Gs association following chronic morphine.

ABSTRACT: We recently demonstrated in rat spinal cord that a regimen of escalating doses of systemic morphine, analogous to regimens used clinically for chronic pain management, selectively up-regulates the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) splice variants MOR-1B2 and MOR-1C1 mRNA and functional protein. This study investigated the potential relevance of up-regulating MOR-1B2 and MOR-1C1 to the ability of chronic morphine to shift MOR signaling from predominantly G_i /G_o inhibitory to G_s stimulatory. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that chronic morphine induces phosphorylation of carboxyl terminal sites unique to MOR-1B2 and MOR-1C1, and that this phosphorylation is causally related to augmented association of these variants with G_s α. Hypotheses were validat

SUBMITTER: Chakrabarti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7042086 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature