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Effects of kappa opioids in an assay of pain-depressed intracranial self-stimulation in rats

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Abstract

Rationale

Selective, centrally acting kappa opioid agonists produce antinociception in a wide range of preclinical assays, but these compounds perform poorly as analgesics in humans. This discrepancy may be related to the behavioral depressant effects of kappa agonists. Kappa antagonists do not typically produce antinociception, but they produce antidepressant-like effects in some preclinical assays.

Objective

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the kappa agonist U69,593 and the kappa antagonist norbinaltorphimine would produce pronociceptive and antinociceptive effects, respectively, in an assay of pain-depressed behavior.

Methods

Effects of U69,593 (0.056–0.56 mg/kg), norbinaltorphimine (10–32 mg/kg), and morphine (3.2 mg/kg) were evaluated on the stimulation of a stretching response and the depression of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) of the medial forebrain bundle produced in rats by a common noxious stimulus (intraperitoneal administration of dilute lactic acid).

Results

U69,593 produced a dose-dependent blockade of acid-stimulated stretching but only exacerbated acid-induced depression of ICSS. Thus, U69,593 produced antinociception in the assay of pain-stimulated behavior but pronociceptive effects in the assay of pain-depressed behavior. Norbinaltorphimine did not alter acid-stimulated stretching or acid-induced depression of ICSS. The mu opioid agonist morphine blocked both acid-stimulated stretching and acid-induced depression of ICSS.

Conclusions

These results support the hypothesis that prodepressant effects of kappa agonists may limit their clinical utility as analgesics. These results do not support the use of kappa antagonists to treat depressant effects of pain. These findings illustrate the potential value of using complementary assays of pain-stimulated and pain-depressed behaviors for preclinical evaluation of candidate analgesics.

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Abbreviations

norBNI:

Norbinaltorphimine

ICSS:

Intracranial self-stimulation

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants R01-DA11460 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and R01-NS070715 from the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke. A portion of this work was also supported by the Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 410 North 12th Street, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    S. Stevens Negus, Ember M. Morrissey & Marisa Rosenberg

  2. Chemical Biology Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA

    K. Cheng & Kenner C. Rice

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  1. S. Stevens Negus
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  2. Ember M. Morrissey
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Correspondence to S. Stevens Negus.

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Negus, S.S., Morrissey, E.M., Rosenberg, M. et al. Effects of kappa opioids in an assay of pain-depressed intracranial self-stimulation in rats. Psychopharmacology 210, 149–159 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1770-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1770-6

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