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The Effect of Morphine Administration on Glun3b Nmda Receptor Subunit Mrna Expression in Rat Brain Publisher Pubmed



Nazari S1 ; Sadatshirazi MS2 ; Shahbazi A3 ; Ghaffari K1 ; Vousooghi N4
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Development, Molecular & Chemical Biology, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States
  3. 3. Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Research Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6. Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Acta neurobiologiae experimentalis Published:2024


Abstract

Opioid addiction is critically dependent on the activation of N‑methyl‑D‑aspartate (NMDA) receptors, which are widely found in the mesocorticolimbic system. Meanwhile, opioid addiction may affect the expression level of NMDA receptor subunits. The existence of GluN3 subunits in the NMDA receptor's tetramer structure reduces the excitatory current of the receptor channel. We evaluated the changes in the mRNA expression pattern of the GluN3B subunit of the NMDA receptor in rat brains following acute and chronic exposure to morphine. Chronic, escalating intraperitoneal doses of morphine or saline were administered twice daily to male Wistar rats for six days. Two other groups were injected with a single acute dose of morphine or saline. The mRNA level of the GluN3B subunit of the NMDA receptor in the striatum, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) was measured by real‑time PCR. mRNA expression of the GluN3B subunit was considerably augmented (3.15 fold) in the NAc of animals chronically treated with morphine compared to the control group. The difference between rats that were chronically administered morphine and control rats was not statistically significant for other evaluated brain areas. In rats acutely treated with morphine, no significant differences were found for GluN3B subunit expression in the examined brain regions compared to the control group. It was concluded that chronic exposure to morphine notably increased the GluN3B subunit of the NMDA receptor in NAc. The extent of the impact of this finding on opioid addiction and its features requires further evaluation in future studies.