Three mRNA variants are generated from the mouse kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) gene. The expression patterns of these KOR mRNA variants in adult animal tissues and during developmental stages are examined. Furthermore, the biological significance of generating these variants is demonstrated with respect to two post-transcriptional mechanisms, i.e., mRNA stability and translation efficiency. Varia...

Several preclinical studies indicate that selective kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) antagonists have antidepressant-like effects, whereas KOR agonists have opposite effects, suggesting that each might be useful in the treatment of mood abnormalities. Salvinorin A (salvA) is a valuable KOR agonist for further study due to its high potency and receptor selectivity. However, it has short lasting effec...

Comorbidity is a major issue in psychiatry that notably associates with more severe symptoms, longer illness duration, and higher service utilization. Therefore, identifying key clusters of comorbidity and exploring the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms represent important steps toward improving mental health care. In the present review, we focus on the frequent association between addic...

We hypothesized that mice subjected to prolonged stress would demonstrate decreased performance in a learning and memory task attributable to the endogenous activation of the opioid receptor (KOR). C57BL/6J mice were tested using the novel object recognition (NOR) assay at various time points after exposure to repeated forced swim stress (FSS). Unstressed mice demonstrated recognition of the no...

AIMS Our previous studies demonstrated that remote electro-stimulation (RES) increased myocardial GSK3 phosphorylation and attenuated ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury in rat hearts. However, the role of various opioid receptors (OR) subtypes in preconditioned RES-induced myocardial protection remains unknown. We investigated the role of OR subtype signaling in RES-induced cardioprotection aga...

Salvinorin A, the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen, has attracted an increasing amount of attention since the kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) was identified as its principal molecular target by us [Roth, B. L., et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 11934-11939]. Here we report the design, synthesis, and biochemical characterization of novel, irreversible, salvinorin A-derived ...

Three mRNA variants are generated from the mouse k-opioid receptor (KOR) gene. The expression patterns of these KOR mRNA variants in adult animal tissues and during developmental stages are examined. Furthermore, the biological significance of generating these variants is demonstrated with respect to two post-transcriptional mechanisms, i.e., mRNA stability and translation efficiency. Variants ...

Anthropogenic activities such as damming have caused an alteration in the natural flow regime many rivers around world. In this study, role of constructing a hydroelectric dam on Kor River, Iran, is investigated. Nine different methods, which fall into category hydrological were used to determine environmental water requirement (EWR) River. addition, two indices are introduced evaluate allocati...