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NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
Clinical Psychopharmacology Section, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department and Health and Human Services, Baltimore, Maryland (R.B.R., D.L.M., H.X., J.A.G., C.M.D., J.S.P.); and Division of Medicinal & Natural Products Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa (K.T., M.S., T.E.P.)
Salvinorin A [(2S,4aR,6aR,7R,9S,10aS,10bR)-9-(acetyloxy)-2-(3-furanyl)-dodecahydro-6a,10b-dimethyl-4,10-dioxo-2h-naphtho[2,1-c]pyran-7-carboxylic acid methyl ester] is a hallucinogenic
-opioid receptor agonist that lacks the usual basic nitrogen atom present in other known opioid ligands. Our first published studies indicated that Salvinorin A weakly inhibited µ-receptor binding, and subsequent experiments revealed that Salvinorin A partially inhibited µ-receptor binding. Therefore, we hypothesized that Salvinorin A allosterically modulates µ-receptor binding. To test this hypothesis, we used Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the cloned human opioid receptor. Salvinorin A partially inhibited [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-N-Me-Phe-Gly-ol (DAMGO) (0.5, 2.0, and 8.0 nM) binding with EMAX values of 78.6, 72.1, and 45.7%, respectively, and EC50 values of 955, 1124, and 4527 nM, respectively. Salvinorin A also partially inhibited [3H]diprenorphine (0.02, 0.1, and 0.5 nM) binding with EMAX values of 86.2, 64, and 33.6%, respectively, and EC50 values of 1231, 866, and 3078 nM, respectively. Saturation binding studies with [3H]DAMGO showed that Salvinorin A (10 and 30 µM) decreased the µ-receptor Bmax and increased the Kd in a dose-dependent nonlinear manner. Saturation binding studies with [3H]diprenorphine showed that Salvinorin A (10 and 40 µM) decreased the µ-receptor Bmax and increased the Kd in a dose-dependent nonlinear manner. Similar findings were observed in rat brain with [3H]DAMGO. Kinetic experiments demonstrated that Salvinorin A altered the dissociation kinetics of both [3H]DAMGO and [3H]diprenorphine binding to µ receptors. Furthermore, Salvinorin A acted as an uncompetitive inhibitor of DAMGO-stimulated guanosine 5'-O-(3-[35S]thio)-triphosphate binding. Viewed collectively, these data support the hypothesis that Salvinorin A allosterically modulates the µ-opioid receptor.
Address correspondence to: Dr. Richard B. Rothman, Clinical Psychopharmacology Section, 5500 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224. E-mail: rrothman{at}mail.nih.gov
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