The DOR activation-induced reduction of the number of MORs on the cell surface could be important in the regulation of the neuronal sensitivity to μ-opioids. The MOR/DOR interaction may be enhanced by opioid agonist stimulation and Selleckchem Docetaxel membrane depolarization that induce the surface expression of intracellular DORs in the pain pathway (Bao et al., 2003, Cahill et al., 2001, Ma et al., 2006, Patwardhan et al., 2005 and Walwyn et al., 2005). Prolonged morphine treatments increase the

cell surface expression of intracellular DORs (Gendron et al., 2006 and Morinville et al., 2003) and the MOR/DOR heteromerization in DRG neurons (Gupta et al., 2010). Although our immunostaining procedure may not be sensitive enough to detect low levels of DORs in the dorsal horn neurons, prolonged morphine treatments also induce a surface expression of see more DORs in spinal interneurons (Morinville et al., 2003). Therefore, chronic morphine treatments may enhance the DOR-mediated inhibitory effects

on the MOR activity. It is also possible that surface-expressed DORs are accessible to opioid peptides, such as ENK, that are released from spinal interneurons (Cesselin et al., 1989) and would thus be involved in the regulation of MOR activity in afferent terminals. It is noteworthy that the TAT peptide can serve as a guiding signal in the MORTM1-TAT protein, enabling the insertion of the exogenous TM1 peptide into the plasma membrane

in the direction that is required for its function. This method provides an approach to analyze the functional roles of a receptor interaction in vivo by physically dissociating two types of GPCR in the plasma membrane, while maintaining the function of each type of GPCR. The identification of the heteromerization interface of GPCRs is required for designing a molecular probe that effectively disrupts the receptor interaction. The present study shows that the insertion direction of the transmembrane domain of a receptor can be determined by the fusion of the TAT peptide at either the C or N terminus. Dextrose This determination is based on both the identification of the transmembrane domain specifically mediating the receptor interaction and the membrane penetration capacity of the TAT peptide. Using such an approach to specifically disrupt the physical interaction between receptors and/or ion channels in the plasma membrane is not only a tool for the functional analysis of the membrane protein interaction in vivo but also a potential strategy for medical intervention. The present study shows that a systemically applied MORTM1-TAT protein disrupts the MOR/DOR interaction in the spinal cord and improves morphine analgesia. This result is consistent with findings on enhanced morphine analgesia obtained by other pharmacological or genetic approaches.