Neuroscience research
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Neuroscience research · Sep 2000
Involvement of G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying K (GIRK) channels in opioid-induced analgesia.
To investigate the role of G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels in opioid-induced analgesia, we compared the effects of opioids in wild-type and weaver mutant mice having mutant GIRK channels. In the tail-flick and hot-plate tests, weaver mutant mice displayed significantly lower analgesia after either morphine or (-)-U-50488 administration. These findings suggest that GIRK channel activation is important in the induction of analgesia by opioids.