PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jeremy C. Cornelissen
AU  - Samuel Obeng
AU  - Kenner C. Rice
AU  - Yan Zhang
AU  - S. Stevens Negus
AU  - Matthew L. Banks
TI  - Application of Receptor Theory to the Design and Use of Fixed-Proportion Mu-Opioid Agonist and Antagonist Mixtures in Rhesus Monkeys
AID  - 10.1124/jpet.117.246439
DP  - 2018 Apr 01
TA  - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
PG  - 37--47
VI  - 365
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/365/1/37.short
4100  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/365/1/37.full
SO  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther2018 Apr 01; 365
AB  - Receptor theory predicts that fixed-proportion mixtures of a competitive, reversible agonist (e.g., fentanyl) and antagonist (e.g., naltrexone) at a common receptor [e.g., mu-opioid receptors (MORs)] will result in antagonist proportion-dependent decreases in apparent efficacy of the agonist/antagonist mixtures and downward shifts in mixture dose-effect functions. The present study tested this hypothesis by evaluating behavioral effects of fixed-proportion fentanyl/naltrexone mixtures in a warm-water tail-withdrawal procedure in rhesus monkeys (n = 4). Fentanyl (0.001–0.056 mg/kg) alone, naltrexone (0.032–1.0 mg/kg, i.m.) alone, and fixed-proportion mixtures of fentanyl/naltrexone (1:0.025, 1:0.074, and 1:0.22) were administered in a cumulative-dosing procedure, and the proportions were based on published fentanyl and naltrexone Kd values at MOR in monkey brain. Fentanyl alone produced dose-dependent antinociception at both 50 and 54°C thermal intensities. Up to the largest dose tested, naltrexone alone did not alter nociception. Consistent with receptor theory predictions, naltrexone produced a proportion-dependent decrease in the effectiveness of fentanyl/naltrexone mixtures to produce antinociception. The maximum effects of fentanyl, naltrexone, and each mixture were also used to generate an efficacy-effect scale for antinociception at each temperature, and this scale was evaluated for its utility in quantifying 1) efficacy requirements for antinociception at 50 and 54°C and 2) relative efficacy of six MOR agonists that vary in their efficacies to produce agonist-stimuated GTPγS binding in vitro (from lowest to highest efficacy: 17-cyclopropylmethyl-3,14β-dihyroxy-4,5α-epoxy-6α-[(3′-isoquinolyl)acetamindo]morphine, nalbuphine, buprenorphine, oxycodone, morphine, and methadone). These results suggest that fixed-proportion agonist/antagonist mixtures may offer a useful strategy to manipulate apparent drug efficacy for basic research or therapeutic purposes.