Despite tremendous efforts in the search for safe, efficacious and non-addictive opioids for pain treatment, morphine remains the most valuable painkiller in contemporary medicine. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid-receptor classes, mu, delta and kappa, whose genes have been cloned. Genetic approaches are now available to delineate the contribution of each receptor in opioid function in vivo. Here we disrupt the mu-opioid-receptor gene in mice by homologous recombination and find that there are no overt behavioural abnormalities or major compensatory changes within the opioid system in these animals. Investigation of the behavioural effects of morphine reveals that a lack of mu receptors abolishes the analgesic effect of morphine, as well as place-preference activity and physical dependence. We observed no behavioural responses related to delta- or kappa-receptor activation with morphine, although these receptors are present and bind opioid ligands. We conclude that the mu-opioid-receptor gene product is the molecular target of morphine in vivo and that it is a mandatory component of the opioid system for morphine action.

At least nine closely related isoforms of adenylyl cyclases (ACs), the enzymes responsible for the synthesis of cyclic AMP (cAMP) from ATP, have been cloned and characterized in mammals. Depending on the properties and the relative levels of the isoforms expressed in a tissue or a cell type at a specific time, extracellular signals received through the G-protein-coupled receptors can be differentially integrated. The present review deals with various aspects of such regulations, emphasizing the role of calcium/calmodulin in activating AC1 and AC8 in the central nervous system, the potential inhibitory effect of calcium on AC5 and AC6, and the changes in the expression pattern of the isoforms during development. A particular emphasis is given to the role of cAMP during drug and ethanol dependency and to some experimental limitations (pitfalls in the interpretation of cellular transfection, scarcity of the invalidation models, existence of complex macromolecular structures, etc).

The present review focuses on the potential physiological regulations involving different isoforms of adenylyl cyclase (AC), the enzymatic activity responsible for the synthesis of cAMP from ATP. Depending on the properties and the relative level of the isoforms expressed in a tissue or a cell type at a specific time, extracellular signals received by the G protein-coupled receptors can be differently integrated. We report here on various aspects of such regulations, emphasizing the role of Ca(2+)/calmodulin in activating AC1 and AC8 in the central nervous system, the potential inhibitory effect of Ca(2+) on AC5 and AC6, and the changes in the expression pattern of the isoforms during development. A particular emphasis is given to the role of cAMP during drug dependence. Present experimental limitations are also underlined (pitfalls in the interpretation of cellular transfection, scarcity of the invalidation models, and so on).

1 Tolerance and dependence induced by chronic D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration were investigated in mice. The e ects on body weight, analgesia and hypothermia were measured during 6 days of treatment (10 or 20 mg kg 71 THC twice daily). A rapid tolerance to the acute e ects was observed from the second THC administration. 2 The selective CB-1 receptor antagonist SR 141716A (10 mg kg 71 ) was administered at the end of the treatment, and somatic and vegetative manifestations of abstinence were evaluated. SR 141716A administration precipitated several somatic signs that included wet dog shakes, frontpaw tremor, ataxia, hunched posture, tremor, ptosis, piloerection, decreased locomotor activity and mastication, which can be interpreted as being part of a withdrawal syndrome. 3 Brains were removed immediately after the behavioural measures and assayed for adenylyl cyclase activity. An increase in basal, forskolin and calcium/calmodulin stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities was speci®cally observed in the cerebellum of these mice. 4The motivational e ects of THC administration and withdrawal were evaluated by using the place conditioning paradigm. No conditioned change in preference to withdrawal associated environment was observed. In contrast, a conditioned place aversion was produced by the repeated pairing of THC (20 mg kg 71 ), without observing place preference at any of the doses used. 5 This study constitutes a clear behavioural and biochemical model of physical THC withdrawal with no motivational aversive consequences. This model permits an easy quanti®cation of THC abstinence in mice and can be useful for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in cannabinoid dependence.

Chronic morphine administration induces an up-regulation of several components of the cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) signal transduction cascade. The behavioral and biochemical consequences of opiate withdrawal were investigated in mice with a genetic disruption of the alpha and Delta isoforms of the cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB). In CREBalphadelta mutant mice the main symptoms of morphine withdrawal were strongly attenuated. No change in opioid binding sites or in morphine-induced analgesia was observed in these mutant mice, and the increase of adenylyl cyclase activity and immediate early gene expression after morphine withdrawal was normal. Thus, CREB-dependent gene transcription is a factor in the onset of behavioral manifestations of opiate dependence.

A novel mammalian adenylyl cyclase was identified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction amplification using degenerate primers based on a conserved region of previously described adenylyl cyclases (Premont, R. T. (1994) Methods Enzymol. 238, 116-127). The full-length cDNA sequence obtained from mouse brain predicts a 1353-amino acid protein possessing a 12-membrane span topology, and containing two regions of high similarity with the catalytic domains of adenylyl cyclases. Comparison of this novel adenylyl cyclase with the eight previously described mammalian enzymes indicates that this type 9 adenylyl cyclase sequence is the most divergent, defining a sixth distinct subclass of mammalian adenylyl cyclases. The AC9 gene has been localized to human chromosome band 16p13.3-13.2. The 8.5-kb mRNA encoding the type 9 adenylyl cyclase is widely distributed, being readily detected in all tissues tested, and is found at very high levels in skeletal muscle and brain. AC9 mRNA is found throughout rat brain but is particularly abundant in hippocampus, cerebellum, and neocortex. An antiserum directed against the carboxyl terminus of the type 9 adenylyl cyclase detects native and expressed recombinant AC9 protein in tissue and cell membranes. Levels of the AC9 protein are highest in mouse brain membranes. Characterization of expressed recombinant AC9 reveals that the protein is a functional adenylyl cyclase that is stimulated by Mg2+, forskolin, and mutationally activated Gsalpha. AC9 activity is not affected by Ca2+/calmodulin or by G protein betagamma-subunits. Thus AC9 represents a functional G protein-regulated adenylyl cyclase found in brain and in most somatic tissues.

Cyclic nucleotides are major intracellular mediators in the signal transduction events in synaptic neurotransmission of the CNS. Intracellular Ca2+ is known to regulate adenylyl cyclase (AC) in a calmodulin (CaM)-dependent manner, and guanylyl cyclase (GC), in an indirect manner through CaM-sensitive nitric oxide synthase. To ascertain the physiological significance of cyclic nucleotide second messenger systems, we have localized the mRNAs encoding AC, GC, and CaM in the rat brain by in situ hybridization using 35S-labeled RNA probes. The AC mRNA is widely distributed throughout the brain; strong hybridization signal was observed in the granular layers of the cerebellum, in the pyramidal and granule cells of the hippocampus, and in the olfactory system. These AC mRNA localizations are compatible with the distribution of Ca2+/CaM-sensitive AC activities. In contrast to AC mRNA distribution, GC mRNA has a more limited distribution. Significant signals were observed in the striatum, in the pyramidal and granule cells of the hippocampus, in the olfactory system, in the inferior and superior colliculus, in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, in the locus coeruleus, and in many pyramidal cells in the layers II-III and V of the cerebral cortex, and mainly, in the occipital cortex. In some discrete brain regions, a close correlation was found between enzyme activity and mRNA hybridization signal of GC. The distinct distribution of AC and GC mRNAs suggests that different cyclic nucleotide second messenger systems have specialized functions. On the other hand, CaM mRNA was colocalized with the AC and GC mRNA, but its distribution was more abundant and specific for neuronal cells, since there was little hybridization signal with CaM probe in neuronal fiber regions such as the corpus callosum and the anterior commissure. The high expression of CaM mRNA in neuronal cells is in agreement with its biochemical role in the regulation of various enzymes. Results of the present study should help in analyzing the role of cyclic nucleotides and CaM in physiological and pathological situations in the CNS.

The developmental changes in the expression of mRNA encoding three major brain adenylyl cyclase (AC; EC 4.6.1.1) subtypes, type I (AC1), II (AC2), and V (AC5), were examined by in situ hybridization in rat brain from neonate to adult. During the early postnatal stage, levels of AC1 transcripts were very high in the cerebral cortex, striatum, thalamus, brainstem, and inferior colliculus. Then, AC1 mRNA levels rapidly decreased to the levels observed in the adult brain. In contrast, AC1 transcripts were very low at the early postnatal stage in the cerebellum and hippocampus and markedly increased during the second postnatal week. AC2 mRNA was widely distributed in rat brain throughout the development, and levels did not vary with different ages of the animal. AC5 mRNA was expressed to a limited extent in the neonatal brain, but levels dramatically increased during the second postnatal week in restricted regions, including the striatum, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercle. The developing profiles of three AC gene transcripts were confirmed by northern blot analyses with mRNA isolated from different brain regions at different postnatal stages. In addition, the basal and forskolin‐, GTPγS‐, or Ca2+/calmodulin‐stimulated AC activity in plasma membrane preparations obtained from different brain regions at different ages were correlated with the age‐dependent changes in the region‐specific AC mRNA levels. These results demonstrate that different AC subtypes are expressed in the developing rat brain in a region‐ and age‐specific manner, suggesting specific roles not only in the synaptic transmission but also in the differentiation and maturation of neuronal cells in the developing brain.