Roles of dynorphin and nociceptin in the analgesic action of anesthetics

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25670671
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Anesthesiology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: FUKUDA Kazuhiko 京都大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (90199224)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 亜酸化窒素 / オピオイド受容体 / 鎮痛 / 鎮静

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It has been previously reported that the opioid receptor is involved in the analgesic action of nitrous oxide, but it has not been clarified which type of the opioid receptor is involved. In this study, we have analyzed the pharmacological action of nitrous oxide in the kappa-opioid receptor (KOP)-knockout mice. The analgesic action of nitrous oxide was analyzed by acetic acid writhing test and hot-plate test, and was shown to be abolished in KOP-knockout mice. In contrast, the hypnotic action of nitrous oxide was not significantly different between the KOP-knockout mice and the wild-type mice. These results suggest that the analgesic action of nitrous oxide is mediated by KOP and that its hypnotic action is mediated by the other mechanism.

Free Research Field

麻酔科学