All Three Opioid Receptors Cloned and Characterized — A Landmark for Drug Design
Cloned kappa, delta, and mu opioid receptors showed distinct pharmacological profiles matching decades of predictions, enabling targeted drug development.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Cloned kappa, delta, and mu opioid receptors showed distinct pharmacological profiles matching decades of predictions from classical pharmacology studies.
Key Numbers
How They Did This
Researchers expressed cloned kappa, delta, and mu opioid receptors in cell lines and performed radioligand binding studies with a panel of opioid drugs and peptides to determine receptor selectivity profiles.
Why This Research Matters
Cloning and characterizing all three opioid receptors was a breakthrough that enabled targeted drug design. It confirmed the receptor subtypes that govern pain, addiction, and mood regulation.
The Bigger Picture
Cloning the opioid receptors was one of neuroscience's major achievements. It transformed opioid pharmacology from observing drug effects to understanding molecular mechanisms, enabling the design of more selective, potentially safer drugs.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
In vitro binding studies in cell lines. Receptor behavior in isolated cells may not fully represent how receptors function in complex brain circuits with multiple interacting systems.
Questions This Raises
- ?Can knowledge of receptor structure enable truly selective drugs without cross-reactivity?
- ?Do receptor structures change in disease states?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Predictions confirmed Decades of pharmacological predictions about three distinct opioid receptor types were validated by cloning and molecular characterization
- Evidence Grade:
- Strong — comprehensive in vitro characterization of cloned receptors with extensive pharmacological profiling. Foundational study.
- Study Age:
- Published in 1994 (32 years ago). This work is foundational — all modern opioid drug design builds on these receptor characterizations.
- Original Title:
- Pharmacological characterization of the cloned kappa-, delta-, and mu-opioid receptors.
- Published In:
- Molecular pharmacology, 45(2), 330-4 (1994)
- Database ID:
- RPEP-00305
Evidence Hierarchy
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was cloning opioid receptors important?
Before cloning, scientists could only infer receptor types from drug effects. Cloning provided the actual molecular targets, enabling precise drug design, structural studies, and genetic research into pain and addiction.
How did this change drug development?
With cloned receptors, scientists could screen thousands of compounds against specific targets, design drugs with predicted selectivity, and understand at a molecular level why some drugs cause addiction while others don't.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-00305APA
Raynor, K; Kong, H; Chen, Y; Yasuda, K; Yu, L; Bell, G I; Reisine, T. (1994). Pharmacological characterization of the cloned kappa-, delta-, and mu-opioid receptors.. Molecular pharmacology, 45(2), 330-4.
MLA
Raynor, K, et al. "Pharmacological characterization of the cloned kappa-, delta-, and mu-opioid receptors.." Molecular pharmacology, 1994.
RethinkPeptides
RethinkPeptides Research Database. "Pharmacological characterization of the cloned kappa-, delta..." RPEP-00305. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/raynor-1994-pharmacological-characterization-of-the
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.