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Estimation in vivo of the receptor constants of morphine in naive and morphine-tolerant rats.

The efficacy and dissociation constant of morphine in naive and morphine-tolerant rats were estimated by the method of partial irreversible blockade of a fraction of the receptor population with buprenorphine. The dissociation constant (KA) of morphine increased from 3.3 x 10(-5) M in naive to 1.4 x 10(-4) M in morphine-tolerant animals, indicating a decrease in the affinity of morphine for its receptor in the tolerant state. The efficacy of morphine (KA/A50 + 1) was constant in naive and tolerant animals (4.23 and 4.46, respectively). When the data were recalculated following conversion of administered dose to brain morphine concentration, the value of KA was 1.7 x 10(-7) M in naive and 7.7 x 10(-7) M in morphine-tolerant rats, while the efficacy was 2.5 and 3.4, respectively. In addition, the stimulus-effect relationship varied in the two states, with the curve in the tolerant animal being of different shape and broader range than in the naive rat. The present results suggest that (a) tolerance to opiate agonists may involve affinity changes and (b) post-receptor events leading to the measured effect may also be affected.

Analgesia↗

Morphine-tolerant mice exhibit a profound and persistent cardioprotective phenotype.

BACKGROUND: Morphine and other opioids continue to be used as the major treatment for acute pain both before and after surgery. In this regard, much research has focused on the mechanisms of morphine tolerance and dependence in the central nervous system; however, few studies have examined the effect of morphine on peripheral organs, such as the heart, in morphine-tolerant animals. Here, we examine the effect of tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine on ischemic tolerance in mice after prolonged morphine exposure and withdrawal. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male C57/BL6 mice were implanted subcutaneously with either placebo or morphine pellets (25 or 75 mg). After prolonged exposure to and/or withdrawal from morphine or placebo, the hearts were excised and subjected to 25 minutes of ischemia and 45 minutes of reperfusion. Morphine-tolerant mice exhibited a markedly improved functional recovery compared with placebo and mice subjected to acute morphine. Lactate dehydrogenase release was also significantly reduced. The protection observed was equieffective 48 hours after withdrawal of pellet, whereas the onset of protection preceded analgesic tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that chronic exposure to morphine unexpectedly results in a profound and persistent cardioprotective phenotype.

Animals↗

Neuropeptides differentially effect various forms of morphine tolerance.

Two different forms of tolerance to morphine were shown to develop. One form, environment dependent (ED), was associated with cues paired with the arrival of the drug. The second form of tolerance, environment independent (EI), was not dependent on any cues. ED tolerance was induced using a multiple injection model in which a cue (orange scent) preceeded each morphine injection (ip). After 12 days the animals were tolerant to the i.p. injection. However if morphine was injected i.c.v. tolerance was no longer evident. EI tolerance was induced by a pellet implant method. These animals were tolerant to morphine regardless of the route of administration. Peptides arginine vasopressin (AVP) and cyclo (Leu-Gly) (cLG) were tested for their ability to alter tolerance. AVP was found to facilitate the development of ED tolerance but had no effect on EI tolerance. On the other hand cLG blocked the development of EI tolerance without affecting ED tolerance. The determination of brain morphine levels indicated that the ED tolerance produced by this method is dispositional while EI tolerance is functional.

Animals↗

Effect of kappa-opioid receptor agonists on morphine analgesia in morphine-naive and morphine-tolerant rats.

The effect of i.p. administration of kappa-opioid receptor agonists, bremazocine, tifluadom and U-50,488H on morphine (8 mg/kg i.p.)-induced analgesia in morphine-naive and morphine tolerant male Sprague-Dawley rats was determined using the tail-flick test. The tolerance to morphine in the rats was induced by s.c., implantation of six morphine pellets during a 7-day period. Implantation of morphine pellets resulted in the development of tolerance as evidenced by the decrease in the analgesic response to morphine when compared to placebo pellets implanted rats. Bremazocine (0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg) and U-50,488H (16 mg/kg) antagonized morphine-induced analgesia in morphine-naive rats while tifluadom (8 and 16 mg/kg) potentiated the effect. In morphine-tolerant rats, bremazocine (3 mg/kg) and U-50,488H (16 mg/kg) potentiated morphine-induced analgesia. Tifluadom at any of the doses had no effect on morphine-induced analgesia in morphine-tolerant rats. These results provide evidence that different kappa-opioid agonists modify morphine-induced analgesia differentially in morphine-naive and morphine-tolerant rats.

3,4-Dichloro-N-methyl-N-(2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cycloh↗

Attenuation of morphine tolerance and dependence in scopolamine-treated rats.

Morphine tolerance and dependence were investigated in scopolamine-treated rats. The results showed that scopolamine treatment (up to 2 mg/kg) did not affect basal line or morphine-induced latency in the tail-flick test but significantly increased the escape latency in the Morris water-maze task. Co-administration of scopolamine could considerably attenuate development of morphine tolerance and naloxone-precipitated withdrawal syndrome. Pretreatment of scopolamine for 7 days prior to morphine administration also significantly reduced the tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Scopolamine treatment was further shown to attenuate morphine-induced conditioned place preference, an indicator of morphine psychological dependence. The present study demonstrated the attenuation of morphine tolerance and dependence in scopolamine-treated animals, probably related to scopolamine-produced learning and memory impairment.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Nocistatin, a peptide reversing acute and chronic morphine tolerance.

It has been reported that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of nociception/orphanin FQ (OFQ) can antagonize morphine analgesia, whereas i.c.v. OFQ antibody can reverse morphine tolerance. Nocistatin (NST) is a recently characterized neuropeptide possessing an antagonizing effect on OFQ. Here we examine whether i.c.v. NST would result in a reversal of morphine tolerance. The results showed that: (1) i.c.v. NST at doses of 0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 5 or 50 ng per rat produced a bell-shaped dose-dependent reversal of chronic morphine tolerance, with maximum response at 0.5 ng. (2) Acute morphine tolerance could also be reversed, albeit partially, by i.c.v. NST at 0.5 ng. (3) The reversal of acute and chronic morphine tolerance by NST was completely abolished when NST (0.5 ng) was co-injected with (8 microg) OFQ. Since OFQ and NST are derived from the same preprohormone, the profile of its splicing in the CNS may play an important role in determining the effectiveness of morphine analgesia.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Knockdown of spinal opioid receptors by antisense targeting beta-arrestin reduces morphine tolerance and allodynia in rat.

The development of morphine tolerance and sciatic nerve injury-induced allodynia after functional knockdown of spinal opioid receptors using antisense oligonucleotides targeting beta-arrestin was investigated. Ineffectiveness of morphine in neuropathic pain suggests an implication of the same mechanism in these two processes. The development of morphine tolerance (10 microg intrathecally (i.th.), every 12 h) was significantly inhibited in rats, which received i.th. beta-arrestin antisenses (2 nM). Acute and chronic (6 days) i.th. administration of antisenses antagonized the allodynia in the rat model of neuropathic pain. Our results demonstrated that i.th. administration of beta-arrestin antisenses delayed development of tolerance to morphine and nerve injury-induced cold allodynia, which suggest that both of the investigated phenomena may be mediated by a similar mechanism, e.g. receptor desensitization. Moreover, the antisense oligonucleotides targeting beta-arrestin may constitute a new approach to the therapy of neuropathic pain.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Attenuation of morphine tolerance by intrathecal gabapentin is associated with suppression of morphine-evoked excitatory amino acid release in the rat spinal cord.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of acute and chronic intrathecal (i.t.) injection of gabapentin (GBP) on the antinociceptive effect of morphine and tolerance development using a tail-flick latency test. Levels of excitatory amino acids (EAA) in i.t. CSF dialysates were also measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Male Wistar rats were implanted with either one or two i.t. catheters for drug injection or pump infusion and with a microdialysis probe for CSF dialysate collection. The effect of acute GBP (10 microg i.t.) injection on the morphine dose response was examined in both naïve rats and rats made tolerant by continuous infusion of morphine (15 microg/h i.t.) for 5 days. At such a low dose (10 microg i.t.), GBP did not enhance morphine's antinociception in naïve rats. In morphine-tolerant rats, however, acute GBP (10 microg i.t.) injection potentiated morphine's antinociception and yielded a 14.6-fold shift in morphine's dose-response curve. When GBP (10 microg/h i.t.) was co-infused with morphine (15 microg/h i.t.) to examine its effect on the development of morphine tolerance, GBP attenuated the development of morphine tolerance. The effect of GBP and morphine on CSF glutamate and aspartate levels was examined in naïve rats, and the effect of morphine challenge on CSF glutamate and aspartate levels was examined in rats previously infused for 5 days with morphine alone or morphine plus GBP. Acute injection of GBP (10 microg i.t.), morphine (50 microg i.t.), or GBP (10 microg i.t.) followed by morphine (50 microg i.t.) 30 min later had no significant effect on CSF EAA concentration in naïve rats; however, in tolerant rats, morphine challenge (50 microg i.t.) increased aspartate and glutamate levels to 221 +/- 22% and 296 +/- 43%, respectively, of those before morphine challenge, and this phenomenon was inhibited by GBP co-infusion. Our results show that GBP, at a dose without enhanced effect on morphine's antinociception in naïve rats, not only potentiates morphine's antinociceptive effect in morphine-tolerant rats but also attenuates the development of morphine tolerance. The mechanism of the effect of GBP on morphine tolerance might be via suppression of the EAA concentration in spinal CSF dialysate.

Amines↗

A locus and mechanism of action for associative morphine tolerance.

Repeated administration of an opioid in the presence of specific environmental cues can induce tolerance specific to that setting (associative tolerance). Prolonged or repeated administration of an opioid without consistent contextual pairing yields non-associative tolerance. Here we demonstrate that cholecystokinin acting at the cholecystokinin-B receptor is required for associative but not non-associative morphine tolerance. Morphine given in the morphine-associated context increased Fos-like immunoreactivity in the lateral amygdala and hippocampal area CA1. Microinjection of the cholecystokinin B antagonist L-365,260 into the amygdala blocked associative tolerance. These results indicate that cholecystokinin acting in the amygdala is necessary for associative tolerance to morphine's analgesic effect.

Amygdala↗

Formalin-evoked Fos expression in spinal cord is enhanced in morphine-tolerant rats.

It has been hypothesized that tolerance to the analgesic effects of morphine results from the development of a compensatory response in neurons that express the opioid receptor or in neural circuits in which those neurons participate. The compensatory response establishes a sensitized state in these neurons. To determine if administration of a noxious stimulus can unmask a sensitization of dorsal horn neurons in morphine-pelleted rats, we injected morphine-tolerant and control rats with formalin into the plantar surface of the hindpaw, counted the number of flinches for 2 h and then processed the lumbar cord for Fos immunocytochemistry. Although there was no significant difference in flinching behavior between the morphine-tolerant and control groups, we recorded significantly increased total Fos-like immunoreactivity at the L4/5 and L2 segments both ipsilateral and contralateral to the site of formalin injection in the morphine-tolerant rats compared to the control rats. These results suggest that lumbar spinal cord neurons are sensitized during the development of tolerance, that the sensitization can be unmasked by the administration of a noxious stimulus and that it is manifested as increased expression of the Fos protein in the lumbar cord.

Animals↗

Complete prevention but stimulus-dependent reversion of morphine tolerance by the glycine/NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-HA966 in neuropathic rats.

BACKGROUND: Tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine complicates the management of chronic pain states. The authors studied the ability of the glycine/N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist (+)-HA966 to modify morphine tolerance in a rat model of neuropathic pain. METHODS: Mononeuropathy was induced by placing four ligatures around the common sciatic nerve. The 4-day pretreatment regimens with two daily subcutaneous injections of saline and saline, saline and morphine (10 mg/kg), (+)-HA966 (2.5 mg/kg) and morphine, or (+)-HA966 and saline were begun on post-operative day 12 to test the ability of (+)-HA966 to prevent the development of tolerance. Behavioral experiments were performed on postoperative day 16, when the pain-related behavior reached a stable maximum. The effect of an acute dose of morphine (1 mg/kg intravenously) was tested against both mechanical (vocalization threshold to paw pressure) and thermal (struggle latency to hind paw immersion into a 46 degrees C hot-water bath) stimuli. In addition, to test the ability of a single injection of (+)-HA966 to reverse established morphine tolerance, groups of morphine-pretreated rats received injections of either (+)-HA966 (2.5 mg/kg subcutaneously) and morphine (1 mg/kg intravenously), saline and morphine, or (+)-HA966 and saline. RESULTS: Baseline vocalization thresholds and struggle latencies did not differ in the various pretreatment groups, indicating that the pretreatments had no effect on pain-related behavior. Coadministration of (+)-HA966 prevented the reduction of the effect observed with morphine alone in both the mechanical test and the thermal test. (+)-HA966 reversed morphine tolerance in the thermal but not in the mechanical test. CONCLUSION: (+)-HA966 prevented morphine tolerance in both mechanical and thermal tests but reversed established morphine tolerance in the thermal test only.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Influence of adenosine analogs on morphine tolerance and dependence in mice.

A number of adenosine agonists were investigated for possible actions on tolerance to morphine withdrawal in mice. The induction of tolerance to a sustained release preparation of morphine was assessed by measuring the analgesic effect induced by a test dose of the drug. The concomitant treatment with L- and D-phenylisopropyl adenosine, (L- and D-PIA), cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) or chloroadenosine (CADO) during the period of morphine absorption did not alter the induction of the process. In contrast cyclohexyladenosine (CHA) significantly decreased the intensity of tolerance. The administration of naloxone 30 hrs, after the priming dose of morphine induced an intense withdrawal reaction. The intensity of the abstinence syndrome was decreased by the administration of L-PIA, CHA or CADO; CPA and D-PIA were ineffective. These results suggest that adenosine analogs may interfere with the known morphine effects on calcium disposition in nerve terminals.

Adenosine↗

State dependent learning and morphine tolerance.

On the basis of a Pavlovian conditioning analysis of morphine tolerance, cues signaling the systemic effects of morphine come to elicit conditional pharmacological responses that attenuate the effect of the drug. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the relevance of this analysis to recent reports that morphine-experienced rats, anesthetized with pentobarbital prior to a final test injection of morphine, do not display the analgesic tolerance seen in nonanesthetized rats. It was hypothesized that such pentobarbital blockage of morphine tolerance represents an instance of state-dependent learning: the barbiturate alters predrug cues so that the final, barbiturate-signaled morphine administration is presented in the context of different signals than those accompanying pretest administrations of the opiate. Results of the present experiments confirmed the finding that pentobarbital interferes with the expression of morphine tolerance in rats that had not previously received barbiturate-opiate pairings. In addition, the results supported the state-dependency interpretation of this interference: Rats that had pretest administrations of morphine signaled by pentobarbital, as well as the test administration, displayed substantial morphine tolerance. Moreover, if pretest morphine administrations were signaled by pentobarbital, omission of the barbiturate cue on the test session attenuated tolerance.

Animals↗

Effects of calcitonin on morphine tolerance and withdrawal syndrome in morphine physically dependent rats.

We investigated the effect of acute or chronic peripheral administration of [Asu1.7]eel-calcitonin on the development of tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine and on the naloxone-precipitated withdrawal syndrome in morphine-dependent rats. Neither the analgesic effect of acute morphine nor the development of tolerance to the antinociceptive effect of this drug was modified by calcitonin. However, the chronic but not the acute administration of calcitonin attenuated some signs and symptoms of morphine withdrawal.

Animals↗

Protective effects of calcium-magnesium soft gels in morphine tolerant and dependent mice.

The present study was aimed at evaluating the acute effects of Calcium-Magnesium soft gels (CalMag) in morphine tolerant and dependent mice. Mice were rendered tolerant and dependent on morphine by subcutaneous injection of morphine over a fixed time period. Withdrawal signs were precipitated by injecting naloxone 2 h after the final injection of morphine. The tail-pinch assay was used to investigate the effects of various compounds on the development and reversal of morphine tolerance. Acute injection of CalMag (containing 50 mg/kg calcium and 25 mg/kg magnesium) significantly reduced the number of jumps, stands and fast breathing in morphine dependent mice. Co-administration of calcium (50 mg/kg) and magnesium (25 mg/kg) was also effective in preventing the development of morphine tolerance and dependence. Administration of calcium (up to 50 mg/kg) alone did not significantly block the development of tolerance and dependence. The mean latency to pain was significantly increased in animals pretreated with CalMag (containing 50 mg/kg calcium and 25 mg/kg magnesium). The mixture of calcium and magnesium at specific concentrations seem to be critical for preventing the development of morphine tolerance and dependence.

Animals↗

Differential cross-tolerance to mu and kappa opioid agonists in morphine-tolerant rats responding under a schedule of food presentation.

If different populations of opioid receptors mediate the actions of mu and kappa opioid agonists, then tolerance induced by the chronic administration of a mu agonist should confer cross-tolerance to other mu agonists but not necessarily to those compounds whose effects are mediated by the kappa receptor. This hypothesis was evaluated in the present investigation by examining the effects of the mu agonists morphine, l-methadone and fentanyl, the kappa agonists U50,488 and bremazocine, and the mixed kappa/mu agonist ethylketocyclazocine in rats responding under a fixed-ratio 30 schedule of food presentation before, during and after exposure to a regimen of chronic morphine administration. For comparison, naloxone was evaluated as a representative mu antagonist and the phenothiazine chlorpromazine as a control drug. During all phases of the experiment, each of these compounds produced dose-related decreases in rate of responding. During the daily administration of 40 mg/kg morphine, tolerance developed to the rate-decreasing effects of morphine, l-methadone and fentanyl, and an enhanced sensitivity to the effects of naloxone. In contrast to the effects obtained with these mu opioids, there was no evidence that chronic morphine administration produced tolerance or enhanced sensitivity to the rate-decreasing effects of U50,488, bremazocine, ethylketocyclazocine and chlorpromazine. The present findings demonstrate that the chronic administration of morphine results in the selective development of tolerance to other mu agonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

3,4-Dichloro-N-methyl-N-(2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cycloh↗

An analysis of the effects of contextual cues on the development of morphine tolerance in rats.

Tolerance to morphine analgesia was determined daily by exposing rats either to the same box or to different boxes by a repeated administration of morphine (5 mg/kg). In the Acquisition Phase, the rats received either morphine or saline in the same or different boxes for four consecutive days, and the process of tolerance development was assessed by a hot-plate test. Marked tolerance developed in the group exposed to the same contextual cue, whereas tolerance was attenuated in the group exposed to different cues. In the Extinction Phase, all rats received saline injections in the box exposed on Day 1 for four days. On the first day, hyperalgesia was observed only in the rats injected with morphine in the same contextual cue. In the Retest Phase, the rats underwent a second morphine injection and to some extent showed recovery from tolerance. In the Acquisition Phase, the number of animals showing abnormal activity with morphine injection increased monotonically in the group that was administered morphine in the same box (Group M-S) before injection, but in the group administered the drug in different boxes (Group M-D), no systematic development of the activity occurred. These results indicate that the hindering of a rat's ability to associate with environmental cues under the effect of morphine slows the development of tolerance, and the withdrawal and anticipatory symptoms, and the tolerance of morphine involves psychological and pharmacological factors.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Peripherally acting NMDA receptor/glycineB site receptor antagonists inhibit morphine tolerance.

The present study focused on the role of peripheral ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the development of tolerance to morphine-induced antinociception. An initial experiment revealed that NMDA channel blocker memantine, and NMDA receptor/glycine(B) site antagonist MRZ 2/576 inhibited maximal electroshock-induced convulsions (MES) in female NMR mice with respective potency of 5.93 and 20.8 mg/kg, while other NMDA receptor/glycine(B) site antagonists MRZ 2/596 and MDL 105,519 were ineffective, supporting lack of CNS activity of the latter two agents. This observation was also supported by blood-brain barrier experiments in vitro. In male Swiss mice, morphine (10 mg/kg) given for 6 days twice a day (b.i.d.) produced tolerance to its antinociceptive effects in the tail-flick test. The NMDA receptor/glycine(B) site antagonists, MRZ 2/576 at 0.03, 0.1, 0.3 mg/kg and MRZ 2/596 at 0.1, 0.3, 3 and 10 mg/kg attenuated the development of morphine tolerance. Similarly, in male C57/Bl mice, morphine (10 mg/kg) given for 6 days b.i.d. produced tolerance to its antinociceptive effects in the tail-flick test. Like in Swiss mice, in C57/Bl mice morphine tolerance was attenuated by both MRZ 2/576 and MRZ 2/596. Another NMDA receptor/glycine(B) site receptor antagonist, MDL 105,519 (that very weakly penetrates to the central nervous system) also inhibited morphine tolerance at the dose of 1 but not 0.1 mg/kg. Moreover, both naloxone hydrochloride (5 and 50 mg/kg) and centrally inactive naloxone methiodide (50mg/kg) inhibited morphine tolerance suggesting the involvement of peripheral opioid receptors in this phenomenon. The present data suggest that blockade of NMDA receptor/glycine(B) sites in the periphery may attenuate tolerance to the antinociceptive effects of morphine.

Animals↗