Morphine immunosuppression

Gaveriaux-Ruff C, Matthes HWD, Peluso J, KiefferBL (1998) Abolition of morphine-immunosuppression in mice lacking the p-opi-oid receptor gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 95 6326-6330. 

When used via the epidural route, the site for injection must be free of infection. In addition, the use of corticosteroids by the patient should be halted for at least 2 weeks prior to the insertion of the catheter to prevent infection, since morphine increases the immunosuppressive effects of the steroids. 

Keywords Cannabinoids Cheniokines Cocaine Cytokines Immunosuppression Morphine Opioids T-helper 1/T-helper 2 (Thl/Th2) A9-tetrahydrocannabinol (A -THC) Tolerance Withdrav al... 

Morphine and other ligands for the mu receptor have been shown to modulate producdon of both cytokines and chemokines, although the results have been complex. For example, dreatment of sdmulated PBMCs with morphine decreased IFN-y producdon (Peterson et al., 1987b), but increased TGF-p expression (Chao et al., 1992). As TGF- 3 can be immunosuppressive, the reladonship between the levels of the two cytokines may be causal. A biphasic dose response reladonship was shown for release of proinflammatory cytokines from sdmulated mouse peritoneal macrophages dreatecl with morphine in vitro, with low doses increasing release of IL-6 and... 

Eisenstein TK, Meissler Jr JJ, Geller EB, Adler MW (1990) Immunosuppression to tetanus toxoid induced by implanted morphine pellets. Ann N Y Acad Sci 594 377-379. 

Bryant HU, Bemton EW, Holaday JW (1987) Immunosuppressive effects of chronic morphine treatment in mice. Life Sci 41 1731-1738. 

As noted in the Chapter 5 Lagniappe, more than half of all new drug candidates come either directly or indirectly from natural products. All four natural products shown in the introduction to this chapter, for instance, are used as drugs morphine from the opium poppy, prostaglandin Ej from sheep prostate glands, erythromycin A from a Strepto-myces erythreus bacterium cultured from a Philippine soil sample, and benzylpenicillin from Penicillium nota-tum. Still other examples include rapamycin (Figure 25.15), an immunosuppressant isolated from a Strepto-myceshygroscopicus bacterium first found in a soil sample from Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and paclitaxel (Taxol),... 

It has been estimated that well over 300,000 secondary metabolites exist, and it s thought that their primary function is to increase the likelihood of an organism s survival by repelling or attracting other organisms. Alkaloids, such as morphine antibiotics, such as erythromycin and the penicillins and immunosuppressive agents, such as rapamycin (sirolimus) prescribed for liver transplant recipients, are examples. 

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