ArticlePloS one2013
Morphine induces bacterial translocation in mice by compromising intestinal barrier function in a TLR-dependent manner.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 146 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
146 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 208 citations in OpenAlex.
- European Interdisciplinary Guidelines on Pain Management in Acute Pancreatitis: UEG, EPC, EDS, ESDO, EAGEN, ESPGHAN, ESGAR, and ESPCG Evidence-Based Recommendations.United European gastroenterology journal · 2026Guideline
- Effect of Concomitant Use of Analgesics on Prognosis in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Gastrointestinal Transit Time Assessed Using a CT-Based Radiopaque Marker Method in Patients With Acute Pancreatitis During Methylnaltrexone Treatment.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2025Trial
- Dynamic flexibility of the murine gut microbiota during morphine disturbance enables escape from the stable dysbiosis that is associated with addiction-like behavior.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Association between opioid use and treatment discontinuation in patients receiving nivolumab: a real-world database study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Epithelial MLCK deficiency alleviates alcohol-associated liver disease via dendritic-Th17 cell axis.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2026Article
- Associations between fentanyl exposure, gut microbiome and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Opioid-Induced Constipation: Mechanistic Insights, Experimental Models, and Future Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Interactions Between Plant-Derived Psychoactive Substances andMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota dysbiosis and hepatic inflammation in morphine dependence and withdrawal: insights from a rat model.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Non-pharmacological pain treatments as neuro-epigenetic revalidation strategies: integrating chronobiology, acupuncture, and pharmaco-nutrition.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Optimising Pain Relief in Acute Pancreatitis: An Evidence-Based Approach.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Worldwide Research Trends on Substance Use Disorder-Related Inflammatory Imbalances: A Bibliometric Analysis.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Article
- Anxiety-like behavior during protracted morphine withdrawal is driven by gut microbial dysbiosis and attenuated with probiotic treatment.Gut microbes · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact of antibiotic-induced gut microbiota modulation on morphine analgesia, tolerance, withdrawal, and neurophysiological changes in mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Viewing Psychiatric Disorders Through Viruses: Simple Architecture, Burgeoning Implications.Neuroscience bulletin · 2025Review
- Treatment of Opioid-Induced Constipation: Inducing Laxation and Understanding the Risk of Gastrointestinal Perforation.Journal of clinical gastroenterology · 2025Review
- Longitudinal and Concurrent Changes in Brain and Gut due to Morphine Self-Administration.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Neonatal exposure to morphine results in prolonged pain hypersensitivity during adolescence, driven by gut microbial dysbiosis and gut-brain axis-mediated inflammation.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
86 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Opiates are among the most prescribed drugs for pain management. However, morphine use or abuse results in significant gut bacterial translocation and predisposes patients to serious infections with gut origin. The mechanism underlying this defect is still unknown. In this report, we investigated the mechanisms underlying compromised gut immune function and bacterial translocation following morphine treatment. We demonstrate significant bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph node (MLN) and liver following morphine treatment in wild-type (WT) animals that was dramatically and significantly attenuated in Toll-like receptor (TLR2 and 4) knockout mice. We further observed significant disruption of tight junction protein organization only in the ileum but not in the colon of morphine treated WT animals. Inhibition of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) blocked the effects of both morphine and TLR ligands, suggesting the role of MLCK in tight junction modulation by TLR. This study conclusively demonstrates that morphine induced gut epithelial barrier dysfunction and subsequent bacteria translocation are mediated by TLR signaling and thus TLRs can be exploited as potential therapeutic targets for alleviating infections and even sepsis in morphine-using or abusing populations.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.