TY - JOUR T1 - Rat Natural Killer Cell, T Cell and Macrophage Functions after Intracerebroventricular Injection of SNC 80 JF - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO - J Pharmacol Exp Ther SP - 931 LP - 937 VL - 286 IS - 2 AU - Jason E. Nowak AU - Ricardo Gomez-Flores AU - Silvia N. Calderon AU - Kenner C. Rice AU - Richard J. Weber Y1 - 1998/08/01 UR - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/286/2/931.abstract N2 - We investigated the effects of (+)-4-[(α R)-α-((2S,5R)-4-allyl-2,5-dimethyl-1-piperazinyl)-3-methoxybenzyl]-N,N-diethylbenzamide (SNC 80), a nonpeptidic delta-opioid receptor-selective agonist, on rat leukocyte functions. Intracerebroventricular injection of SNC 80 (20 nmol) in Fischer 344N male rats did not affect splenic natural killer cell activity compared with intracerebroventricular saline-injected controls. SNC 80 also had no effect on concanavalin A-, anti-T cell receptor-, interleukin-2- and anti-T cell receptor + interleukin-2-induced splenic and thymic lymphocyte proliferation in most experiments. In some experiments, however, SNC 80 significantly (P < .01) caused a 41 to 93% increase of concanavalin A-, anti-T cell receptor-, interleukin-2- and anti-T cell receptor + interleukin-2-induced splenic lymphocyte proliferation compared to controls. Additionally, SNC 80 did not significantly affect splenic T cell or natural killer cell populations as measured by the expression of T cell receptorαβ, and T helper (CD4), T suppressor/cytotoxic (CD8) and natural killer cell surface markers. Finally, SNC 80 did not affect interferon-γ- or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced splenic nitric oxide, and LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-α production by splenic macrophages. These results suggest that SNC 80 could be useful in the treatment of pain without suppressing immune function. However, the potential immunoenhancing properties of SNC 80 may be also valuable in immunocompromised individuals. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics ER -