Le récepteur delta aux opiacés : une nouvelle cible pour le traitement des douleurs chroniques ?

Research concerning the delta opoid receptor (DOR) has greatly improved our understanding of pain and the effect of opiate drugs. The mu opiate receptor (MOR), which mediates the actions of morphinic drugs such as morphine or fentanyl, is different from the DOR which has a regulating role that we are beginning to apprehend. Unlike the MOR, the DOR has only a few selective ligands which remain stable in vivo. This has limited research possibilities. It has been found nevertheless that the DOR is implicated more in chronic pain than in acute nociception. Analysis of a knockout mouse with an invalidated DOR gene has demonstrated the role of this receptor in endogenous physiological control of chronic pain and revealed its anti-anxiety and anti-depressive effect.