Dopamine Receptors are Involved in the Control of Opioid Antinociception in Mice

The present investigation was focused on the effects induced by haloperidol and apomorphine on the antinociception induced by DAMGO (highly selective μ-agonist), U50-488H (highly selective k-agonist) and deltorphin II (highly selective δ-agonists). Haloperidol (a dopamine receptor antagonist) and apomorphine (a dopamine receptor agonist) (0.1-1.0-2.0 mg/kg/i.p.) per se did not change the pain threshold of mice both in the hot plate and in the tail flick test. The antinociception effects of DAMGO (5 mg/kg/i.p.), U50-488H (5 mg/kg/i.p.) and deltorphin II (10 ng/i.c.v./mouse) peaked by 15 min after treatment and was antagonized by haloperidol in a dose dependent manner. By contrast, the dopamine receptor agonist, apomorphine, depending on the doses used, exhibited opposite effects on opiate antinociception. Treatment of mice with low doses of apomorphine (0.1-1.0 mg/kg/i.p.) reduces the antinociception induced by μ, k and δ receptor agonists whereas a high dose (2 mg/kg/i.p.) potentiates it. Our results indicate that dopamine receptors are involved in the control of antinociception at both the μ, k and δ receptor level.