RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Distribution and targeting of a mu-opioid receptor (MOR1) in brain and spinal cord
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 3328
OP 3341
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-05-03328.1995
VO 15
IS 5
A1 U Arvidsson
A1 M Riedl
A1 S Chakrabarti
A1 JH Lee
A1 AH Nakano
A1 RJ Dado
A1 HH Loh
A1 PY Law
A1 MW Wessendorf
A1 R Elde
YR 1995
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/15/5/3328.abstract
AB Opioid receptors regulate neuronal activity by both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms. We recently reported that the cloned delta- opioid receptor (DOR1) is primarily targeted to axons, suggesting a presynaptic role. In the present study we have studied the distribution and targeting of another opioid receptor, the mu-opioid receptor (MOR1), by raising anti-peptide antisera to the C-terminal peptide of MOR1. The specificity of the antisera was determined by analysis of transfected cells, Western blots, and immunoisolation studies. Immunohistochemistry showed that MOR1 immunoreactivity was enriched in many brain areas including cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus, locus coeruleus, and the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn. Moreover, MOR1-expressing neurons seem to target this receptor preferentially to their somatodendritic domain as determined by double- labeling experiments with MAP2. However, discrete populations of neurons target MOR1 to their axons, including some primary afferent neurons that express DOR1. In many regions enkephalin-containing axons were complementary to MOR1, suggesting by their proximity that enkephalins may be physiologically relevant ligands for this receptor. Thus, these results provide a morphological basis for understanding pre- and postsynaptic functions mediated by MOR1.