The role of opioid receptor antagonists in regulation of blood pressure and T-cell activation in mice selected for high analgesia induced by swim stress

Skiba, D., Jaskuła, K., Nawrocka, A., Poznanski, P., Łazarczyk, M., Szymanski, Ł., Zera, T., Sacharczuk, M., Cudnoch-Jedrzejewska, A. and Gaciong, Z. (2024) The role of opioid receptor antagonists in regulation of blood pressure and T-cell activation in mice selected for high analgesia induced by swim stress. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(5), 2618. (doi: 10.3390/ijms25052618)

Abstract

Opioid peptides and their G protein-coupled receptors are important regulators within the cardiovascular system, implicated in the modulation of both heart and vascular functions. It is known that naloxone—an opioid antagonist—may exert a hypertensive effect. Recent experimental and clinical evidence supports the important role of inflammatory mechanisms in hypertension. Since opioids may play a role in the regulation of both blood pressure and immune response, we studied these two processes in our model. We aimed to evaluate the effect of selective and non-selective opioid receptor antagonists on blood pressure and T-cell activation in a mouse model of high swim stress-induced analgesia. Blood pressure was measured before and during the infusion of opioid receptor antagonists using a non-invasive tail–cuff measurement system. To assess the activation of T-cells, flow cytometry was used. We discovered that the non-selective antagonism of the opioid system by naloxone caused a significant elevation of blood pressure. The selective antagonism of μ and κ but not δ opioid receptors significantly increased systolic blood pressure. Subsequently, a brief characterization of T-cell subsets was performed. We found that the blockade of μ and δ receptors is associated with the increased expression of CD69 on CD4 T-cells. Moreover, we observed an increase in the central memory CD4 and central memory CD8 T-cell populations after the δ opioid receptor blockade. The antagonism of the μ opioid receptor increased the CD8 effector and central memory T-cell populations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland, project number 2019/35/ D/NZ5/02820.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Skiba, Mr Dominik
• Authors: Skiba, D., Jaskuła, K., Nawrocka, A., Poznanski, P., Łazarczyk, M., Szymanski, Ł., Zera, T., Sacharczuk, M., Cudnoch-Jedrzejewska, A., and Gaciong, Z.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
• Journal Name: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1661-6596
• ISSN (Online): 1422-0067
• Published Online: 23 February 2024
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2024 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25(5):2618
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license