ArticlePsychopharmacology2026
Agmatine ameliorates morphine-induced behavioral sensitization through blood-brain barrier protection and anti-neuroinflammatory effects in the nucleus accumbens.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The crosstalk between blood-brain barrier and neural cells: bidirectional regulation of brain function and pathology.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
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.
Funding
Abstract
The treatment of morphine addiction remains a significant clinical challenge, and the development of novel pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder (OUD) is imperative. Agmatine, an endogenous neuromodulator, has promising antiaddictive potential, although its precise mechanisms remain incompletely characterized. In this study, a single morphine-induced behavioral sensitization model was established in mice, and immunofluorescence staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), RNA sequencing and network pharmacology were used to explore the mechanism of the anti-morphine addiction effects of agmatine. We found that agmatine improved morphine-induced behavioral sensitization without affecting spontaneous activity in mice and improved the changes in synapses in the NAc induced by morphine exposure. Network pharmacological analysis revealed that the key targets associated with agmatine-morphine dependence included TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Morphine exposure can lead to increased expression of these inflammatory factors, which are closely related with the M1 microglia. Agmatine administration significantly reduced morphine-induced neuroinflammation and activation of microglia. RNA sequencing revealed that the hub genes included TEK receptor tyrosine kinase (TEK), cadherin 5 (CDH5), platelet and endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM1) and so on, which are closely related to endothelial adhesion and angiogenesis. Morphine exposure can downregulate the expression of VE-cadherin, Pecam1, claudin-5, occludin and ZO-1, disrupt the integrity of the BBB and increase its permeability, whereas agmatine can protect the BBB. Agmatine reversed morphine induced BBB leakage and reduced NAc infiltration of peripheral cytokines. This study revealed that agmatine mitigates morphine-induced behavioral sensitization through anti-inflammatory and BBB protection in the NAc and thus provides mechanistic evidence for the development of therapeutic agents for OUD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41134339What 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.