How the brain protein RGS7 affects kappa opioid receptors
Official title: Rgs7 regulation of the Kappa Opioid Receptor
Funded at University of Maryland Baltimore County · NIH-11192859 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Testing whether changing a brain protein called RGS7 can help kappa-opioid drugs relieve pain without causing the low mood they often cause.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maryland Baltimore County NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $377,812 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA059446-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11192859 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with chronic pain who have experienced bad mood or anhedonia from opioid-type medications, or anyone interested in future safer pain therapies.
✕Less likely to help
This is preclinical laboratory research, so patients seeking immediate treatment will not directly benefit at this time.
What this research studies
This project looks at how RGS7 alters kappa opioid receptor signaling that links pain relief and negative mood. Researchers will use lab models and behavior tests like conditional place aversion and an operant task to find the specific neurons that drive the aversive responses. They will also examine how phosphorylation (a chemical change) of RGS7 changes receptor signaling at the cellular level. The work aims to identify ways drug developers could target RGS7-related pathways to separate pain relief from dysphoria.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to pain treatments that keep analgesia but reduce the dysphoria or anhedonia side effects.
How similar studies have gone: Kappa-opioid targeting has relieved pain in preclinical work but caused dysphoria in humans, and using RGS proteins to fine-tune signaling is a newer, mostly preclinical approach with limited clinical testing so far.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sutton, Laurie — University of Maryland Baltimore County
- Study coordinator: Sutton, Laurie
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.