Pain responses, anxiety and aggression in mice deficient in pre-proenkephalin

ENKEPHALINS are endogenous opioid peptides that are derived from a pre-proenkephalin precursor protein(1,2). They are thought to be vital in regulating many physiological functions, including pain perception and analgesia, responses to stress, aggression and dominance (3-5). Here we have used a genetic approach to study the role of the mammalian opioid system. We disrupted the preproenkephalin gene using homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells to generate enkephalin-deficient mice. Mutant enk(-/-) animals are healthy, fertile, and care for their offspring, but display significant behavioural abnormalities. Mice with the enk(-/-) genotype are more anxious and males display increased offensive aggressiveness. Mutant animals show marked differences from controls in supraspinal, but not in spinal, responses to painful stimuli. Unexpectedly, enk(-/-) mice exhibit normal stress-induced analgesia. Our results show that enkephalins modulate responses to painful stimuli. Thus, genetic factors may contribute significantly to the experience of pain.