The Balance of MU-Opioid, Dopamine D2 and Adenosine A2A Heteroreceptor Complexes in the Ventral Striatal-Pallidal GABA Antireward Neurons May Have a Significant Role in Morphine and Cocaine Use Disorders

The widespread distribution of heteroreceptor complexes with allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the CNS represents a novel integrative molecular mechanism in the plasma membrane of neurons and glial cells. It was proposed that they form the molecular basis for learning and short-and long-t...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Borroto-Escuela, Dasiel O., Wydra, Karolina, Fores-Pons, Ramon, Vasudevan, Lakshmi, Romero-Fernandez, Wilber, Frankowska, Małgorzata, Ferraro, Luca, Beggiato, Sarah, Crespo-Ramirez, Minerva, Rivera, Alicia, Rocha, Luisa L., Perez de la Mora, Miguel, Stove, Christophe, Filip, Małgorzata, Fuxe, Kjell
Format: article
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)
Repository:Repisalud
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/18287
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/18287
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:G protein-coupled receptor
Mu opioid receptor
Dopamine D2 receptor
Adenosine A2A receptor
Morphine use disorder
Cocaine use disorder
Oligomerization
Morphine
Neurons
Enkephalins
Receptores acoplados a proteínas G
Receptores opioides mu
Receptores de dopamina D2
Receptor de adenosina A2A
Morfina
Trastornos relacionados con sustancias
Cocaína
Neuronas
Encefalinas
Protein Subunits
Analgesics, Opioid
Reward
Substance-Related Disorders
Cocaine
Description
Summary:The widespread distribution of heteroreceptor complexes with allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the CNS represents a novel integrative molecular mechanism in the plasma membrane of neurons and glial cells. It was proposed that they form the molecular basis for learning and short-and long-term memories. This is also true for drug memories formed during the development of substance use disorders like morphine and cocaine use disorders. In cocaine use disorder it was found that irreversible A2AR-D2R complexes with an allosteric brake on D2R recognition and signaling are formed in increased densities in the ventral enkephalin positive striatal-pallidal GABA antireward neurons. In this perspective article we discuss and propose how an increase in opioid heteroreceptor complexes, containing MOR-DOR, MOR-MOR and MOR-D2R, and their balance with each other and A2AR-D2R complexes in the striatal-pallidal enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons, may represent markers for development of morphine use disorders. We suggest that increased formation of MOR-DOR complexes takes place in the striatal-pallidal enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons after chronic morphine treatment in part through recruitment of MOR from the MOR-D2R complexes due to the possibility that MOR upon morphine treatment can develop a higher affinity for DOR. As a result, increased numbers of D2R monomers/homomers in these neurons become free to interact with the A2A receptors found in high densities within such neurons. Increased numbers of A2AR-D2R heteroreceptor complexes are formed and contribute to enhanced firing of these antireward neurons due to loss of inhibitory D2R protomer signaling which finally leads to the development of morphine use disorder. Development of cocaine use disorder may instead be reduced through enkephalin induced activation of the MOR-DOR complex inhibiting the activity of the enkephalin positive GABA antireward neurons. Altogether, we propose that these altered complexes could be pharmacological targets to modulate the reward and the development of substance use disorders.