Fluorescence-based, high-throughput assays for μ-opioid receptor activation using a membrane potential-sensitive dye

The development of new and improved opioid analgesics requires high-throughput screening (HTS) methods to identify potential therapeutics from large libraries of lead compounds. Here we describe two simple, real-time fluorescence-based assays of μ-opioid receptor activation that may be scaled up for HTS. In AtT-20 cells expressing the μ-opioid receptor (MOPr), opioids activate endogenous G protein gated inwardly rectifying K channels (GIRK channels), leading to membrane hyperpolarization. In Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing MOPr, adenylyl cyclase activation via forskolin results in membrane hyperpolarization, which is inhibited by opioids. Changes in membrane potential can be measured using a proprietary membrane potential-sensitive dye. In contrast to many HTS methods currently available, these assays reflect naturalistic coupling of the receptor to effector molecules.9 page(s

Rewarding effects of opiates are absent in mice lacking the receptor for substance P

Modulation of substance P activity offers a radical new approach to the management of depression, anxiety and stress(1-3). The substance P receptor is highly expressed in areas of the brain that are implicated in these behaviours, but also in other areas such as the nucleus accumbens which mediate the motivational properties of both natural rewards such as food and of drugs of abuse such as opiates(4-7). Here we show a loss of the rewarding properties of morphine in mice with a genetic disruption of the substance P receptor. The loss was specific to morphine, as both groups of mice responded when cocaine or food were used as rewards. The physical response to opiate withdrawal was also reduced in substance P receptor knockout mice. We conclude that substance P has an important and specific role in mediating the motivational aspects of opiates and may represent a new pharmacological route for the control of drug abuse