RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Recent Developments in the Study of Opioid Receptors
JF Molecular Pharmacology
JO Mol Pharmacol
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 723
OP 728
DO 10.1124/mol.112.083279
VO 83
IS 4
A1 Brian M. Cox
YR 2013
UL http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/83/4/723.abstract
AB It is now about 40 years since Avram Goldstein proposed the use of the stereoselectivity of opioid receptors to identify these receptors in neural membranes. In 2012, the crystal structures of the four members of the opioid receptor family were reported, providing a structural basis for understanding of critical features affecting the actions of opiate drugs. This minireview summarizes these recent developments in our understanding of opiate receptors. Receptor function is also influenced by amino acid substitutions in the protein sequence. Among opioid receptor genes, one polymorphism is much more frequent in human populations than the many others that have been found, but the functional significance of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been unclear. Recent studies have shed new light on how this SNP might influence opioid receptor function. In this minireview, the functional significance of the most prevalent genetic polymorphism among the opioid receptor genes is also considered.