The -opioid receptor mediates not only the beneficial painkilling effects of opiates like morphine but also the detrimental effects of chronic exposure such as tolerance and dependence. Different studies have linked tolerance to opioid receptor desensitization. Agonist activation of the -opioid receptor stimulates a mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) activity, but the functional significance of this pathway remains unclear. We have focused on the MAPK signaling cascade to study -opioid receptor desensitization. We report that inhibition of the MAPK pathway blocks desensitization of -opioid receptor signaling as well as the loss of receptor density due to internalization. Our results suggest that a feedback signal emanating from the MAPK cascade is required for -opioid receptor desensitization.Agonists for the -opioid receptor are the therapeutic choice in the management of severe acute and chronic pain despite the potential development of tolerance, dependence, and addiction. The mechanisms of tolerance, defined as the diminishing effect of the drug in response to chronic exposure, are not fully understood. It has been postulated that receptor desensitization and down-regulation could be associated with aspects of tolerance in vivo (1). Opioid receptors undergo homologous desensitization upon continuous or repeated agonist exposure in a fashion similar to other G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) 1 (2-4). Desensitization of the -opioid receptor involves agonistdependent phosphorylation of the receptor, most likely by a member of the family of G-coupled receptor protein kinases (GRKs) (4, 5). According to this model, upon phosphorylation and uncoupling from the G protein, the receptor is bound to -arrestins and internalized into endosomes, reducing the number of receptors available at the cell surface for further agonist binding (6, 7).Desensitization of the -opioid receptor has been mainly described as the attenuated reduction of forskolin-stimulated cAMP levels in response to the agonist (2-4). However, other signaling pathways might also be desensitized upon prolonged agonist exposure. GPCRs can trigger a G␥-mediated activation of a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Ras-dependent MAPK signaling pathway (8, 9). Opioid receptors stimulate MAPK activity as well, although the components of this signaling cascade have not been fully described (10 -12). In this report we have examined the role of the MAPK (Erk1/2) signaling pathway on -opioid receptor desensitization. This pathway, which involves the activation of a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity as well as Raf and MEK1/2, is essential for -opioid receptor desensitization.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURESReagents-[D-Ala 2 ,N-Me-Phe 4 ,Gly 5 -ol]enkephalin (DAMGO), dermorphin, morphine, Met-enkephalin, naloxone, D-Pen 2 ,D-Pen 5 -enkephalin (DPDPE), lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), pertussis toxin, cycloheximide, forskolin, and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) were from Sigma. Wortmannin and LY294002 were from Calbiochem. Antibodies that recognize only the phosphorylated...