Involvements of mu- and kappa-opioid receptors in morphine-induced antinociception in the nucleus accumbens of rats

It is well known that there are three types of opioid receptors, mu- (MOR), delta- (DOR), and kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) in the central nervous system. The present study investigated the involvement of opioid receptors in morphine-induced antinociception in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of rats. The hindpaw withdrawal latencies to thermal and mechanical stimulation increased markedly after intra-NAc administration of morphine. The antinociceptive effects induced by morphine were dose-dependently inhibited by intra-NAc administration of the non-selective opioid receptor antagonist naloxone. Furthermore, the morphine-induced antinociception was significantly attenuated by subsequent intra-NAc injection of the MOR antagonist beta-funaltrexamine or the KOR antagonist nor-binaltorphimine, but not the DOR antagonist naltrindole. The results indicate that MOR and KOR, but not DOR are involved in the morphine-induced antinociception in the NAc of rats.