Role of Endogenous Morphine in the Attenuation of Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome by N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine-D-isoglutamine (MDP)


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Neuropsychopharmacology (1996) 15 99-103. Role of Endogenous Morphine in the Attenuation of Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome by N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine-D-isoglutamine (MDP) Inam D Munjal¹, Dennis Schmidt¹ and Sydney Spector^1,2



¹From the Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt Medical School, Nashville, TN ²Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Medical School, Nashville, TN Correspondence: Dr. Sydney Spector, Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, AA2232, Medical Center North, Nashville, TN



ABSTRACT

Opiates, long considered the prototypical addictive drug, cause the phenomenon of tolerance and physical dependence following chronic administration. Although many factors promote the addictive state, our studies have focused on the role of endogenous morphine in modifying physical dependence. Mammalian tissues contain morphine and codeine and have the capacity to synthesize these alkaloids. The present report shows that N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine-D-isoglutamine (MDP), which elevates the endogenous opiate alkaloids in various brain regions and peripheral tissues, can attenuate the withdrawal syndrome of morphine-addicted rats. Keywords: Endogenous morphine; Opiate withdrawal; N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine-D-isoglutamate (MDP)

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