Expression of Opioid Receptors in Cells of the Immune System

0541562 - FGÚ 2022 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Brejchová, Jana - Holáň, Vladimír - Svoboda, Petr
Expression of Opioid Receptors in Cells of the Immune System.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Roč. 22, č. 1 (2021), č. článku 315. E-ISSN 1422-0067
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) LTAUSA18110; GA ČR(CZ) GA19-02290S
Institutional support: RVO:67985823 ; RVO:68378041
Keywords : opioid receptors * immune cells * stem cells * opioid drugs * addiction * chronic pain
OECD category: Biochemistry and molecular biology; Biochemistry and molecular biology (UEM-P)
Impact factor: 6.208, year: 2021
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/1/315

The observation of the immunomodulatory effects of opioid drugs opened the discussion about possible mechanisms of action and led researchers to consider the presence of opioid receptors (OR) in cells of the immune system. To date, numerous studies analyzing the expression of OR subtypes in animal and human immune cells have been performed. Some of them confirmed the expression of OR at both the mRNA and protein level, while others did not detect the receptor mRNA either. Although this topic remains controversial, further studies are constantly being published. The most recent articles suggested that the expression level of OR in human peripheral blood lymphocytes could help to evaluate the success of methadone maintenance therapy in former opioid addicts, or could serve as a biomarker for chronic pain diagnosis. However, the applicability of these findings to clinical practice needs to be verified by further investigations.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0319104