Previous studies that defined sex dependency of opioid antinociception were not poised to reveal relevant mechanistic underpinnings and biological substrates. The present application proposes to establish a causal association between sex-dependent pharmacological characteristics of spinal opioid antinociception and (1) the sexual dimorphic nature of spinal opioid receptors and (2) the sex-dependent release of spinal opioids by intrathecal (i.t.) morphine. Hypothesized sexual dimorphic relationships among spinal ?-opioid receptors (MOR), endomorphin 2 (EM2), ?-opioid receptors (KOR) and dynorphin 1-17 (Dyn) are supported by substantial preliminary data, which is undergirded by our previous demonstrations that i.t. morphine elicits predominantly MOR-coupled spinal antinociception in males, whereas in females i.t. morphine recruits a more inclusive integrative system that requires concomitant activity of spinal MOR and KOR. Sexual dimorphic expression levels of spinal MOR splice variants and MOR KOR heterodimers are postulated to be molecular underpinnings of the female phenotypic response to spinal morphine. In parallel with the postulated sexually dimorphic organization of spinal opioid receptors, we hypothesize that the sex-dependent regulation of the release of and analgesic responsiveness to spinal opioids are integral component of sex-dependent spinal opioid antinociception. Specifically, Aim 1 will test the hypothesis that the antinociception produced by i.t. morphine, requires the release of EM2 from the spinal cord of males, but not females.
Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that i.t. EM2 elicits greater antinociception in males vs. females, which exacerbates the consequences of the sex-dependent release of spinal EM2 by i.t. morphine. We postulate that this is mediated, at lest in part, by the sex-dependent expression of spinal MOR splice variants. Validation that release of spinal EM2 by i.t. morphine is a prerequisite for the spinal antinociception it produces in males, but not females, would not fully reveal the sex-dependent landscape that underlies spinal morphine antinociception. To do so requires knowledge of the analgesic substrates recruited by i.t. morphine in females. Accordingly, Aim 3 will test the hypothesis that in females, i.t. morphine analgesia is mediated via the release of Dyn, not EM2.
Aim 4 will test the hypothesis that the requirement in females for the concomitant activation of spinal MOR and KOR for spinal morphine antinociception to be manifest reflects the presence of significantly higher expression levels of MOR KOR heterodimers in spinal cord of females vs. males. We will pursue these interrelated Aims using a multi-dimensional approach that integrates behavioral, pharmacological, molecular and immuno-based biochemical levels of analyses. These will be used as complementary measures to cross validate findings. Since pain and addiction share common substrates, expected outcomes will reveal novel drug targets that are not only relevant to optimizing pain management in men and women but also to treating opioid withdrawal and relapse in a sex-dependent fashion.

Public Health Relevance

This application will establish sexual dimorphic functional relationships among spinal ?- and ?-opioid receptors and the endogenous opioids endomorphin 2 and dynorphin 1-17. This will provide a rationale framework for understanding the sex divide in pain processing and its differential regulation in men vs. women.. Since pain and addiction share common substrates, expected outcomes will reveal novel drug targets and mechanisms that are not only relevant to the sex-dependent optimization of pain management but also to treating opioid withdrawal and relapse in women as well as men.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DA027663-05
Application #
8636001
Study Section
Pathophysiological Basis of Mental Disorders and Addictions Study Section (PMDA)
Program Officer
Purohit, Vishnudutt
Project Start
2010-06-01
Project End
2015-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$269,204
Indirect Cost
$100,424
Name
Suny Downstate Medical Center
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
040796328
City
Brooklyn
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11203
Liu, Nai-Jiang; Murugaiyan, Vijaya; Storman, Emiliya M et al. (2017) Estrogens synthesized and acting within a spinal oligomer suppress spinal endomorphin 2 antinociception: ebb and flow over the rat reproductive cycle. Pain 158:1903-1914
Liu, Nai-Jiang; Murugaiyan, Vijaya; Storman, Emiliya M et al. (2017) Plasticity of Signaling by Spinal Estrogen Receptor ?, ?-Opioid Receptor, and Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors over the Rat Reproductive Cycle Regulates Spinal Endomorphin 2 Antinociception: Relevance of Endogenous-Biased Agonism. J Neurosci 37:11181-11191
Chakrabarti, Sumita; Chang, Andrew; Liu, Nai-Jiang et al. (2016) Chronic opioid treatment augments caveolin-1 scaffolding: relevance to stimulatory ?-opioid receptor adenylyl cyclase signaling. J Neurochem 139:737-747
Kumar, Arjun; Liu, Nai-Jiang; Madia, Priyanka A et al. (2015) Contribution of Endogenous Spinal Endomorphin 2 to Intrathecal Opioid Antinociception in Rats Is Agonist Dependent and Sexually Dimorphic. J Pain 16:1200-10
Kumar, Arjun; Storman, Emiliya M; Liu, Nai-Jiang et al. (2015) Estrogens Suppress Spinal Endomorphin 2 Release in Female Rats in Phase with the Estrous Cycle. Neuroendocrinology 102:33-43
Verzillo, Vittorio; Madia, Priyanka A; Liu, Nai-Jiang et al. (2014) Mu-opioid receptor splice variants: sex-dependent regulation by chronic morphine. J Neurochem 130:790-6
Liu, Nai-Jiang; Gintzler, Alan R (2013) Spinal endomorphin 2 antinociception and the mechanisms that produce it are both sex- and stage of estrus cycle-dependent in rats. J Pain 14:1522-30
Chakrabarti, Sumita; Liu, Nai-Jiang; Zadina, James E et al. (2012) Pleiotropic opioid regulation of spinal endomorphin 2 release and its adaptations to opioid withdrawal are sexually dimorphic. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 340:56-63
Gintzler, Alan R; Liu, Nai-Jiang (2012) Importance of sex to pain and its amelioration; relevance of spinal estrogens and its membrane receptors. Front Neuroendocrinol 33:412-24
Liu, Nai-Jiang; Chakrabarti, Sumita; Schnell, Stephen et al. (2011) Spinal synthesis of estrogen and concomitant signaling by membrane estrogen receptors regulate spinal ?- and ?-opioid receptor heterodimerization and female-specific spinal morphine antinociception. J Neurosci 31:11836-45

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