Pharmacology research & perspectives
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Pharmacol Res Perspect · Aug 2016
Pharmacological characterization of cebranopadol a novel analgesic acting as mixed nociceptin/orphanin FQ and opioid receptor agonist.
The aim of the study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological profile of cebranopadol, a novel agonist for opioid and nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) receptors (NOP). In vitro cebranopadol was assayed in calcium mobilization studies in cells coexpressing NOP or opioid receptors and chimeric G-proteins and in a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assay for studying receptor interaction with G-protein and β-arrestin 2. The mouse tail withdrawal and formalin tests were used for investigating cebranopadol antinociceptive properties. ⋯ In vivo, cebranopadol exhibits highly potent and extremely long-lasting antinociceptive effects. The effects of cebranopadol in the tail withdrawal assay were sensitive to both SB-612111 and naloxone. Collectively the present results confirm and extend previous finding demonstrating that cebranopadol, by acting as mixed NOP/opioid receptor agonist, elicits robust analgesic effects in different pain models.