Chapter category: Immunology
Experimental Evidence for Immunomodulatory Effects of Opioids
Immune Mechanisms of Pain and Analgesia
Edited by: Halina Machelska and Christoph SteinISBN: 0-306-47692-4
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «
Chapter authors:
Paola Sacerdote, Elena Limiroli and Leda Gaspani
[+] view image
In recent years the experimental and clinical research has made it clear that the immune system does not stand alone, but it is profoundly affected by other organ systems, especially the central nervous and neuroendocrine systems. It is also increasingly clear that the immune system can in turn affect the functioning of these systems as well.1
The research on opioid peptides plays a fundamental role in the development of this awareness. Among the first experimental evidences suggesting the existence of a bidirectional link between brain and immune system we must include the observation by Wybran et al.2 who in 1979 showed that morphine, a drug considered to alter only neuronal functions, could affect also the responses of human B lymphocytes. This report stimulated the research in the field of Neuroimmunomodulation, leading to the identification of several neuropeptide receptors on immune cells, and to the observations that many, if not all, neuropeptides, hormones and neurotransmitters can affect the immune responses.
However, although 21 years have passed and a wide literature is now available, the real significance of the role of opioids in the modulation of the immune system has not yet been ascertained.
Additional chapters from this book:
Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Opioids
Judith S. Walker
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder with its primary manifestations in the joints. The etiology of RA remains obscure, no cure is yet available and sustained ...
Invertebrate Opiate Immune and Neural Signaling
George B. Stefano, Patrick Cadet, Christos M. Rialas, Kirk Mantione, Federico Casares, Yannick Goumon and Wei Zhu
It is increasingly becoming evident that specific chemical signal molecules within a cell and between cells can be the same regardless of whether an organism is an invertebrate or vertebrat...
The ImmuneSuppressive Effects of Pain
Gayle G. Page
The immune-suppressive effects of painful experiences have been studied in both humans and animals for many years. Experimental pain has been induced by such means as electric shock and sur...
Experimental Evidence for Immunomodulatory Effects of Opioids
Paola Sacerdote, Elena Limiroli and Leda Gaspani
In recent years the experimental and clinical research has made it clear that the immune system does not stand alone, but it is profoundly affected by other organ systems, especially the ce...
Opioid Receptor Expression and Intracellular Signaling by Cells Involved in Host Defense and Immunity
Burt M. Sharp
More than two decades ago, Joseph Wybran reported his original insights on the expression of different opioid receptor types by T-cell s. This was based on the differential effects that morphi...
Functional Evidence of Pain Control by the Immune System
Halina Machelska
Pain can be effectively controlled by various endogenous mechanisms. Recent research has shown that these mechanisms are not restricted to the central nervous system. Intrinsic pain inhibition...
Morphological Correlates of Immune-Mediated Peripheral Opioid Analgesia
Shaaban A. Mousa
Secent research has shown that effective inhibition of pain by endogenous mechanisms can be generated within peripheral tissue, outside the central nervous system. Studies using sensitive and ...
Opioid Receptors on Peripheral Sensory Neurons
Christoph Stein
The interaction of immune cellderived opioid peptides with opioid receptors on peripheral terminals of primary afferent (sensory) neurons is one of the most extensively investigated immune mec...
Opioid Peptides in Immune Cells
Eric M. Smith
The roles of opiates and opioids (endogenous peptides with opiate activity) in the immune system have only recently begun to receive rigorous study. The purpose of this chapter is to cover a p...
Cytokines and Peripheral Analgesia
Michael Schafer
Acute transient pain serves as a physiological warning to guard the integrity of the organism. An immediate reflex, e.g., withdrawal of a body part from a heat source, prevents tissue damag...
Peripheral Hyperalgesic Cytokines
Fernando Q. Cunha and Sérgio H. Ferreira
Primary sensory neurons (PSN) become sensitized during inflammation (hyperalgesia) and as a consequence the nociceptors are able to transduce innocuous stimuli into what is perce...
Glial Proinflammatory Cytokines Mediate Exaggerated Pain States: Implications for Clinical Pain
Linda R. Watkins, Erin D. Milligan and Steven F. Maier
When you hurt yourself, you become consciously aware of the pain because a chain of neurons carries the pain message from the injury to the spinal cord, and then from the spinal cor...
