Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32052419›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of pharmacology2020

Morphine-induced respiratory depression is independent of β-arrestin2 signalling.

Andrea Kliewer, Alexander Gillis, Rob Hill, Frank Schmiedel, Chris Bailey, Eamonn Kelly, Graeme Henderson, Macdonald J Christie, Stefan Schulz

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
139citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
14.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

139 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 240 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
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  10. Review
  11. Biased Signaling in Psychedelic Action.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2026
    Review
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  16. Elucidating biased signaling in class A GPCRs.Trends in pharmacological sciences · 2025
    Review
  17. Role of β-Arrestin 2 in the antinociceptive and side effect profile of morphine and the novel mu opioid receptor agonists, kurkinorin and kurkinol.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
  18. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine: Bidirectional effects on breathing in rats.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025
    Article
  19. Rational Design Biased Compounds against μ‑Opioid Receptor.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025
    Article
  20. Total synthesis and biological activity of "carbamorphine": O-to-CHProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article

79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Andrea KliewerInstitute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1320-6505
Alexander GillisDiscipline of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Rob HillSchool of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3859-8506
Frank SchmiedelInstitute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.
Chris BaileyDepartment of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
Eamonn KellySchool of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9183-3993
Graeme HendersonSchool of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6050-0048
Macdonald J ChristieDiscipline of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Stefan SchulzInstitute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.
Jena University Hospital · DEUniversity of Bristol · GBThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of Bath · GB

Funding

Mechanisms of Ethanol's Reversal of Opioid ToleranceR01DA036975 · NIDA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI AKBARALI, HAMID I, DEWEY, WILLIAM L. · 2014 to 2018
$2.3M
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SCHU924/10-3Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SCHU924/11-3Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SCHU924/18-1Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB/TR166-TPC5Medical Research Council MR/J013269/1Medical Research Council MR/S010890/1National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia 1045964National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia APP1072113NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA036975
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background and purposeGPCRs can signal through both G proteins and β-arrestin2. For the μ-opioid receptor, early experimental evidence from a single study suggested that G protein signalling mediates analgesia, whereas β-arrestin2 signalling mediates respiratory depression and constipation. Consequently, for more than a decade, much research effort has been focused on developing biased μ-opioid agonists that preferentially target G protein signalling over β-arrestin signalling, as it was believed that such drugs would be analgesics devoid of respiratory depressant activity. However, the prototypical compounds that have been developed based on this concept have so far failed in clinical and preclinical development. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The present study was set up to re-examine opioid-induced respiratory depression in β-arrestin2 knockout mice. To this end, a consortium was formed consisting of three different laboratories located in different countries to evaluate independently opioid-induced respiratory depression. KEY

resultsOur consensus results unequivocally demonstrate that the prototypical μ-opioid agonist morphine (3.75-100 mg·kg CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings do not support the original suggestion that β-arrestin2 signalling plays a key role in opioid-induced respiratory depression and call into question the concept of developing G protein-biased μ-opioid receptor agonists as a strategy for the development of safer opioid analgesic drugs.

Indexed as

MorphineRespiratory InsufficiencyAnalgesics, OpioidAnimalsbeta-Arrestin 2FentanylMiceReceptors, Opioid, muAnalgesics, Opioidbeta-Arrestin 2FentanylMorphineReceptors, Opioid, mu

Identifiers

PMID32052419
PMCPMC7280004
OpenAlexW3006232652

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.