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Beta-endorphin tolerance is inhibited by oxytocin
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Repeated beta-endorphin administration caused tolerance to its pain-relief effects in mice. Oxytocin treatment, however, blocked this tolerance, suggesting oxytocin
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Opioid peptides like beta-endorphin produce analgesia.
- Repeated opioid administration can lead to tolerance, reducing pain relief.
- Oxytocin is an endogenous peptide with diverse brain functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of oxytocin on beta-endorphin-induced analgesia and tolerance.
- To explore the potential role of endogenous oxytocin in central nervous system sensitivity to opioids.
Main Methods:
- Mice received repeated administrations of beta-endorphin.
- Subcutaneous (SC) and intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of oxytocin were administered.
- Analgesic effects and tolerance development were assessed.
Main Results:
- Repeated beta-endorphin administration induced tolerance to its analgesic effects.
- Oxytocin (SC and ICV) did not alter the acute analgesic effect of a single beta-endorphin dose.
- Oxytocin treatment antagonized the development of tolerance to beta-endorphin.
Conclusions:
- Oxytocin can prevent the development of tolerance to the analgesic effects of beta-endorphin.
- Endogenous oxytocin may modulate central nervous system sensitivity to prolonged opioid stimulation.