Mu-Opioid Receptors Expressed in Glutamatergic Neurons are Essential for Morphine Withdrawal.

ABSTRACT: Although opioids still remain the most powerful pain-killers, the chronic use of opioid analgesics is largely limited by their numerous side-effects, including opioid dependence. However, the mechanism underlying this dependence is largely unknown. In this study, we used the withdrawal symptoms precipitated by naloxone to characterize opioid dependence in mice. We determined the functional role of mu-opioid receptors (MORs) expressed in different subpopulations of neurons in the development of morphine withdrawal. We found that conditional deletion of MORs from glutamatergic neurons expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2⁺) largely eliminated the naloxone-precipitated withdrawal symptoms. In contrast, conditional deletion of MORs expressed in GABAergic neurons had a

SUBMITTER: Zhang XY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7532259 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature