Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society
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J. Physiol. Pharmacol. · Aug 2010
Comparative StudySystemically active human opiorphin is a potent yet non-addictive analgesic without drug tolerance effects.
Human opiorphin QRFSR-peptide protects enkephalins from degradation by human neutral endopeptidase (hNEP) and aminopeptidase-N (hAP-N) and inhibits pain perception in a behavioral model of mechanical acute pain (1). Here, using two other pain rat models, the tail-flick and the formalin tests, we assess the potency and duration of the antinociceptive action of opiorphin with reference to morphine. The occurrence of adverse effects with emphasis on the side-effect profile at equi-analgesic doses was compared. ⋯ We conclude that opiorphin, by inhibiting the destruction of endogenous enkephalins, which are released according to the painful stimulus, activates restricted opioid pathways specifically involved in pain control, thus contributing to a greater balance between analgesia and side-effects than found with morphine. Therefore, opiorphin could give rise to new analgesics endowed with potencies similar to morphine but with fewer adverse effects than opioid agonists. Its chemical optimization, to generate functional derivatives endowed with better bioavailability properties than the native peptide, could lead to a potent class of physiological type analgesics.