ReviewNeuropharmacology2023
The life and times of endogenous opioid peptides: Updated understanding of synthesis, spatiotemporal dynamics, and the clinical impact in alcohol use disorder.
Review in Neuropharmacology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Profiling Endogenous Opioid Peptide Release from Adrenal Chromaffin Cells.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Enteric neurons modulate colorectal cancer cell cycle through a PCSK1 - Methionine-Enkephalin Axis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Kappa opioid receptor control of motivated behavior revisited.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Metabolic syndrome reduces but does not eliminate the cardioprotective effect of adaptation to hypoxia: the link with changes in the opioid system.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Unveiling Dopamine and Met-Enkephalin Dynamics: Simultaneous Co-Detection in Rat Striatum.Analytical chemistry · 2025Article
- Progress toward Multianalyte Neurochemical Detection: Techniques and Applications.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2025Review
- Design of intrinsically disordered region binding proteins.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Endogenous opioids and the development of the mammalian respiratory control network.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2025Review
- A Comprehensive Analysis of Fibromyalgia and the Role of the Endogenous Opioid System.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Binge-type eating disorders and ultra-processed food addiction: phenomenology, pathophysiology and treatment implications.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The Dynorphin/-Opioid Receptor System at the Interface of Hyperalgesia/Hyperkatifeia and Addiction.Current addiction reports · 2025Review
- Developmental and Adult Striatal Patterning of Nociceptin Ligand Marks Striosomal Population With Direct Dopamine Projections.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2024Article
- Opioid system and related ligands: from the past to future perspectives.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2024Review
- Electrochemical Quantification of Enkephalin Peptides Using Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry.Analytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Peptide-derived ligands for the discovery of safer opioid analgesics.Drug discovery today · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The opioid G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) strongly modulate many of the central nervous system structures that contribute to neurological and psychiatric disorders including pain, major depressive disorder, and substance use disorders. To better treat these and related diseases, it is essential to understand the signaling of their endogenous ligands. In this review, we focus on what is known and unknown about the regulation of the over two dozen endogenous peptides with high affinity for one or more of the opioid receptors. We briefly describe which peptides are produced, with a particular focus on the recently proposed possible synthesis pathways for the endomorphins. Next, we describe examples of endogenous opioid peptide expression organization in several neural circuits and how they appear to be released from specific neural compartments that vary across brain regions. We discuss current knowledge regarding the strength of neural activity required to drive endogenous opioid peptide release, clues about how far peptides diffuse from release sites, and their extracellular lifetime after release. Finally, as a translational example, we discuss the mechanisms of action of naltrexone (NTX), which is used clinically to treat alcohol use disorder. NTX is a synthetic morphine analog that non-specifically antagonizes the action of most endogenous opioid peptides developed in the 1960s and FDA approved in the 1980s. We review recent studies clarifying the precise endogenous activity that NTX prevents. Together, the works described here highlight the challenges and opportunities the complex opioid system presents as a therapeutic target.
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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.