Document Type
Research Report
Original Publication Date
2020
Date of Submission
November 2020
Abstract
The gut microbiome plays an important role in maintaining health and homeostasis. Chronic usage of opioids leads to microbial dysbiosis in the gut. This dysbiosis leads to several severe diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Here, we discuss the literature on how opioids affect the gut-microbiome axis and how these changes alter the ability of morphine to produce analgesic tolerance. Chronic morphine exposure leads to increases in gut permeability due to disruption of tight junction proteins and increases in inflammation due to release of proinflammatory cytokines, both of which promote tolerance to morphine. Additionally, it was noted that Vancomycin (gram positive antibiotic) was sufficient to reverse morphine tolerance in animals, isolated dorsal root ganglia neurons, and tetrodotoxin-resistant voltage-gated sodium channels. Lastly, studies show that chronic morphine leads to distinct changes in the metabolome such as increases in phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) and decreases in enterohepatic recirculation of morphine. Overall, the studies reported in this review support the notion that the gut microbiome interacts with mechanisms that allow for morphine-induced antinociceptive tolerance in mice.
Is Part Of
VCU Biology Publications
