How opioid receptors are taken into cells
Mechanisms and Cellular Function of Opioid Receptor Endocytosis
This work looks at how opioid receptors in brain cells are moved inside cells, which could help people who use opioid medicines or who struggle with opioid addiction.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11293408 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers use lab experiments on cells (and supportive animal models) to map the proteins and steps that pull opioid receptors into the cell after they are activated. They focus on how enzymes, receptor phosphorylation, and adaptor proteins called arrestins control receptor movement and signaling. The team will track where in the cell receptors are activated and how different drugs change those pathways using biochemical and imaging methods. The goal is to translate these basic findings into ideas that could guide safer opioid drugs or new addiction treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with opioid use disorder or patients taking opioid pain medications would be most likely to benefit from and be interested in follow-up studies based on this work.
Not a fit: Patients with conditions unrelated to opioid signaling (for example, conditions driven by structural injuries without opioid involvement) are unlikely to see direct benefit from this basic laboratory research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could point to ways to design opioid medicines with fewer side effects or to new targets for treating opioid addiction.
How similar studies have performed: Previous laboratory studies have shown important roles for kinases and arrestins in GPCR regulation, but this program explores new, drug-selective mechanisms and subcellular locations that are less well understood.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vonzastrow, Mark E — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Vonzastrow, Mark E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.