Abstract
An opioid analgesic, morphine, and an opioid peptide, β-endorphin, have been shown to induce chromosome damage, as indicated by an increased frequency of micronucleated lymphocytes, following acute administration to mice. The genotoxic response is opioid receptor-mediated and is abolished in adrenalectomized animals. Further, plasma from morphine-treated animals also induces micronuclei formation in naive lymphocytes in vitro; this response is blocked by inclusion the steroid antagonist RU 486 in the incubation mixture. In addition to the steroid-mediated production of chromosome damage, morphine acts directly on lymphocytes to enhance the clastogenicity of acutely administered cyclophosphamide in manner consistent with depressed DNA repair capacity.
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Couch, D.B., Sawant, S.G. (1995). The Clastogenicity of Morphine Sulfate in vivo . In: Sharp, B.M., Eisenstein, T.K., Madden, J.J., Friedman, H. (eds) The Brain Immune Axis and Substance Abuse. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 373. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1951-5_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1951-5_17
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