Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Molecular mechanism of action of opioids in human neuroblastoma cells

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5174907
A series of human neuroblastoma cell lines was screened for the presence of opioid receptor sites. Of these cell lines, SK-N-SH was found to express approximately 50,000 ..mu.. and 10,000 delta opioid receptor sites/cell. In vitro characterization revealed that the binding properties of these receptor sites closely resembled those of human and rodent brain. Phosphatidylinositol turnover as a potential second messenger system for the ..mu.. receptor was examined in SK-N-SH cells. Neurotransmitter receptor systems were determined in the three sub-clones of SK-N-SH cells. Cells of the SH-SY5Y line, a phenotypically stable subclone of SK-N-SH cells, were induced to differentiate by treatment with various inducing agents, and changes of several neurotransmitter receptor systems were determined. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and retinoic acid (RA) up-regulated, while dBcAMP down-regulated opioid receptor sites. (/sup 3/H)Dopamine uptake was slightly enhanced only in RA-treated cells. Strikingly, the efficacy of PGE/sub 1/-stimulated accumulation of cAMP was enhanced by 15- to 30-fold upon RA treatment.
Research Organization:
California Univ., San Francisco (USA)
OSTI ID:
5174907
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English