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Delta Opioid Receptor Pharmacology and Therapeutic Applications pp 115–127Cite as

Evidence and Function Relevance of Native DOR–MOR Heteromers

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 247))

Abstract

Opioid receptors are the sites of action for morphine and most other clinically used opioid drugs. Abundant evidence now demonstrates that different opioid receptor types can physically associate to form heteromers. Owing to their constituent monomers’ involvement in analgesia, mu/delta opioid receptor (M/DOR) heteromers have been a particular focus of attention. Understandings of the physiological relevance and indisputable proof of M/DOR formation in vivo are still evolving. This aspect of the field has been slow to progress in large part by the limitations of most available experimental models; recently however, promising progress is being made. As a result, the long-repeated promise of opioid receptor heteromers as selective therapeutic targets is now being realized.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Catherine M. Cahill

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Edmund Ong

Authors
  1. Catherine M. Cahill
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  2. Edmund Ong
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Correspondence to Catherine M. Cahill .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Emily M. Jutkiewicz

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Cahill, C.M., Ong, E. (2018). Evidence and Function Relevance of Native DOR–MOR Heteromers. In: Jutkiewicz, E. (eds) Delta Opioid Receptor Pharmacology and Therapeutic Applications. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 247. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2018_112

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