Identification of the Pannexin-1 channel in the brain as a target to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms
Opioids remain one of the most effective analgesics, with 10-15% of Canadians receiving opioid prescriptions per year. However, opioids are also highly associated with substance use disorders and overdose related deaths. Last year alone, over 7000 Canadians passed away from opioid overdose related complications. Many people who start with an opioid prescription enter a feedforward cycle of use reinforced by significant withdrawal symptoms. Patients report these symptoms as so aversive they will do anything to avoid them, and current treatments for opioid use disorder have a high degree of relapse. There is a clear need for better treatments of opioid withdrawal.
Research done by Drs. Erika Harding, Charlie Hong Ting Kwok and Nicole Burma in the laboratory of Dr. Tuan Trang at the University of Calgary has identified a channel called Pannexin-1, present in a brain area called the Locus Coeruleus as a potential target to alleviate opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Read the full story here: https://can-acn.org/brain-star-award-winners-erika-harding-charlie-kwok-and-nicole-burma/
Read the original scientific publication:
Kwok CHT*, Harding EK*, Burma NE*, Markovic T, Massaly N, van den Hoogen NJ, Stokes-Heck S, Gambeta E, Komarek K, Yoon HJ, Navis KE, McAllister BB, Canet-Pons J, Fan C, Dalgarno R, Gorobets E, Papatzimas JW, Zhang Z, Kohro Y, Anderson CL, Thompson RJ, Derksen DJ, Morón JA, Zamponi GW, Trang T. Pannexin-1 channel inhibition alleviates opioid withdrawal in rodents by modulating locus coeruleus to spinal cord circuitry. Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 24;15(1):6264. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50657-7. PMID: 39048565