Potential role of the ecto-5'-nucleotidase in morphine-induced uridine release and neurobehavioral changes.

Potential role of the ecto-5'-nucleotidase in morphine-induced uridine release and neurobehavioral changes. Neuropharmacology. 2018 Jul 30;: Authors: Che X, Liu P, Wu C, Song W, An N, Yu L, Bai Y, Xing Z, Cai J, Wang X, Yang J Abstract There is growing evidence that uridine may act as an endogenous neuromodulator with a potential signaling role in the central nervous system in addition to its function in pyrimidine metabolism. We previously found that acute morphine treatment significantly increased uridine release in the dorsal striatum of mice, indicating that uridine may contribute to morphine-induced neurobehavioral changes. In the present study, we analyzed the mechanism involved in morphine-induced uridine release and the role of uridine in morphine-induced neurobehavioral changes. Uridine release in the dorsal striatum of mice was assessed by in vivo microdialysis coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after morphine treatment. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate the expression of uridine-related proteins. Morphine-induced neurobehavioral changes were assessed by locomotor activity, behavioral sensitization and conditioned place preference (CPP) test. The expression of NT5E, an extracellular enzyme involved in formation of nucleosides, including uridine, was specifically knocked down in the dorsal striatum of mice using adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA...
Source: Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Neuropharmacology Source Type: research