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Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
Published on: July 29, 2014
Repeated Morphine Administration Increases TRPV1 mRNA Expression and Autoradiographic Binding at Supraspinal Sites in
Thi-Lien Nguyen1,2, Yun-Son Nam1, Seok-Yong Lee1
1Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Repeated morphine administration induces tolerance to its analgesic effects. A previous study reported that repeated morphine treatment activates transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) expression in the sciatic nerve, dorsal root ganglion, and spinal cord, contributing to morphine tolerance. In the present study, we analyzed TRPV1 expression and binding sites in supraspinal pain pathways in morphine-tolerant mice. The TRPV1 mRNA levels and binding sites were remarkably increased in the cortex and thalamus of these animals. Our data provide additional insights into the effects of morphine on TRPV1 in the brain and suggest that changes in the expression of, and binding to TRPV1 in the brain are involved in morphine tolerance.
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