Functional blockade of opioid analgesia by orphanin FQ/nociceptin

Orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) is a recently identified neuropeptide with high affinity for the orphan opioid receptor. OFQ/N blocked morphine analgesia in mice in a dose-dependent manner, as well as the analgesic actions of [D-Pen(2), D-Pen(5)]enkephalin (DPDPE), morphine-6 beta-glucuronide, trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2(1-pyrrolindinyl)-cyclohexyl]-benzeneacetamide methane sulfonate hydrate (U50,488H) and naloxone benzoylhydrazone. These actions are anti-analgesic, because OFQ/N also blocked clonidine analgesia and OFQ/N was inactive against the inhibition of gastrointestinal transit by morphine. Although OFQ/N was quite potent in these paradigms, two truncated forms, OFQ/N(1-11) and OFQ/N(1-7), were inactive. An antisense oligodeoxynucleotide targeting the first coding exon of KOR-3, the mouse homolog of the orphan opioid receptor, effectively prevented the anti-opioid actions of OFQ/N, confirming the importance of the orphan opioid receptor in this action. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.