Study Identifies Crucial Difference Between the Locations of Signal Transduction Between Opioid Therapeutics and Opioid Endogenous Hormones
Using genetically encoded biosensors in mice, the authors demonstrate that opioid hormones activate receptors at the cell surface and cell endosomes, while opioid therapeutic drugs activate these sites as well as receptors in the Golgi Apparatus in neurons. This difference in signaling location could be the reason why opioid therapeutic drugs produce severe negative side effects, while endogenous opioid hormones do not.
