Pain, Motivation, Migraine, and the Microbiome: New Frontiers for Opioid Systems and Disease.

Sep 24, 2020

Contributor: Kyle E Parker,Elizabeth Sugiarto,Anna M W Taylor,Amynah A Pradhan,Ream Al-Hasani

For decades the broad role of opioids in addiction, neuropsychiatric disorders, and pain states has been somewhat well established. However, in recent years, with the rise of technological advances, not only is the existing dogma being challenged, but we are identifying new disease areas in which opioids play a critical role. This review highlights four new areas of exploration in the opioid field. The most recent addition to the opioid family, the nociceptin receptor system, shows promise as the missing link in understanding the neurocircuitry of motivation. It is well known that activation of the kappa opioid receptor system modulates negative affect and dysphoria, but recent studies now implicate the kappa opioid system in the modulation of negative affect associated with pain. Opioids are critical in pain management; however, the often-forgotten delta opioid receptor system has been identified as a novel therapeutic target for headache disorders and migraine. Lastly, changes to the gut microbiome have been shown to directly contribute to many of the symptoms of chronic opioid use and opioid related behaviors. This review summarizes the findings from each of these areas with an emphasis on identifying new therapeutic targets. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The focus of this minireview is to highlight new disease areas or new aspects of disease in which opioids have been implicated; this includes pain, motivation, migraine, and the microbiome. In some cases, this has resulted in the pursuit of a novel therapeutic target and resultant clinical trial. We believe this is very timely and will be a refreshing take on reading about opioids and disease.
Copyright © 2020 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Author

admin

View all posts

About The Expert

Kyle E Parker

Department of Anesthesiology and Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P, R.A.-H.); Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P., R.A.-H.); Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (A.A.P.); and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri (R.A.-H.).

Elizabeth Sugiarto

Department of Anesthesiology and Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P, R.A.-H.); Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P., R.A.-H.); Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (A.A.P.); and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri (R.A.-H.).

Anna M W Taylor

Department of Anesthesiology and Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P, R.A.-H.); Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P., R.A.-H.); Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (A.A.P.); and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri (R.A.-H.).

Amynah A Pradhan

Department of Anesthesiology and Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P, R.A.-H.); Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P., R.A.-H.); Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (A.A.P.); and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri (R.A.-H.).

Ream Al-Hasani

Department of Anesthesiology and Washington University Pain Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P, R.A.-H.); Center for Clinical Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (K.E.P., R.A.-H.); Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (E.S., A.M.W.T.); Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (A.A.P.); and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis, Missouri (R.A.-H.) al-hasanir@wustl.edu.

References

PubMed