Nucleic acids research
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Nucleic acids research · Dec 2014
Morphine drives internal ribosome entry site-mediated hnRNP K translation in neurons through opioid receptor-dependent signaling.
Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) binds to the promoter region of mu-opioid receptor (MOR) to regulate its transcriptional activity. How hnRNP K contributes to the analgesic effects of morphine, however, is largely unknown. We provide evidence that morphine increases hnRNP K protein expression via MOR activation in rat primary cortical neurons and HEK-293 cells expressing MORs, without increasing mRNA levels. ⋯ Finally, we found that down-regulation of hnRNP K mediated by siRNA attenuated morphine-induced hyperpolarization of membrane potential in AtT20 cells. Silencing hnRNP K expression in the spinal cord increased nociceptive sensitivity in wild-type mice, but not in MOR-knockout mice. Thus, our findings identify the role of translational control of hnRNP K in morphine-induced analgesia through activation of MOR.