Orexin type 1 receptor antagonism in rat locus coeruleus prevents the analgesic effect of intra-LC met-enkephalin microinjection

Long-term administration of opiates leads to development of tolerance to analgesic effects. This in turn compromise clinical use of these drugs for pain management. Although extensive studies have been conducted, the involved cellular mechanisms are still poorly understood. The nucleus locus coeruleus (LC), which is a dense homogenous cluster of noradrenergic neurons in brainstem, has been reported to be involved in mediating opiate effects including analgesia and tolerance. LC neurons express a high density of opioid receptors. On the other hand, orexinergic neurons send widespread projections to the LC region. Among the two types of orexin receptors (OX1R and OX2R), OX1R is highly expressed in LC neurons. It has been shown that orexin-A is involved in modulation of nociceptive behavior. Also, previous studies have demonstrated the involvement of OX1R in the development of morphine induced analgesia and tolerance. In the present study, the involvement of OX1R in development of met-enkephalin (ME) analgesic tolerance was investigated in LC nucleus. The tail flick test was used to evaluate the analgesic effect of intra-LC microinjection of ME in male Wistar rats (250-300 g). Analgesic responses were reported as the percentage of maximum possible effect (% of MPE). Also, SB-334867 was used as a selective OX1R antagonist. Results indicate that intra-LC microinjection of ME (5 μg/100 nL) results in development of analgesic tolerance in 3 days. Also, OX1R antagonism in LC nucleus significantly prevents the analgesic effect of intra-LC met-enkephalin microinjection. It appears that the analgesic effect of ME in LC neurons is mediated by orexinergic system.