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No heroin or morphine 6beta-glucuronide analgesia in mu-opioid receptor knockout mice
1Molecular Neurobiology Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Abstract:
Recent reports suggest that heroin and its metabolite morphine 6beta-glucuronide can produce analgesia independent of the morphine-preferring mu-opioid receptor. We have tested heroin and morphine 6beta-glucuronide analgesia in wild-type, homozygous and heterozygous mu-opioid receptor knockout mice. Homozygotes display no heroin or morphine 6beta-glucuronide analgesia. Heterozygous mice with one mu-opioid receptor gene copy reveal reduced heroin and morphine 6beta-glucuronide analgesia. The mu-opioid receptor-dependence of heroin and morphine 6beta-glucuronide fails to support a requirement for a heroin-specific opiate receptor subtype.