A caged DAMGO for selective photoactivation of endogenous mu opioid receptors

Ma, X.; He, X. J.; Banghart, M. R.

doi:10.1101/2021.09.13.460181

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.09.13.460181

A caged DAMGO for selective photoactivation of endogenous mu opioid receptors

Ma, X.·He, X. J.·Banghart, M. R.

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Abstract

Photoactivatable drugs and peptides can drive quantitative studies into receptor signaling with high spatiotemporal precision, yet few are compatible with behavioral studies in mammals. We developed CNV-Y-DAMGO, a caged derivative of the mu opioid receptor-selective peptide agonist DAMGO. Photoactivation in the mouse ventral tegmental area produced an opioid-dependent increase in locomotion within seconds of illumination. These results demonstrate the power of in vivo photopharmacology for dynamic studies into animal behavior.

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Ma, X., He, X. J., Banghart, M. R.. 2021-09-14. A caged DAMGO for selective photoactivation of endogenous mu opioid receptors. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.13.460181

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