Human antiidiotypic antibody against opiate receptors

Abstract

Sera containing antibodies to beta-endorphin from 2 patients with major depressive disorder were shown to have antidiotypic antibodies that specifically inhibited reactivity between anti-beta-endorphin IgG and beta-endorphin. Autologous and homologous antiidiotypic anti-anti-beta-endorphin IgG antibodies were isolated by affinity chromatography. The purified antiidiotypic antibody did not bind beta-endorphin but competed with [125I]beta-endorphin for rat brain opiate receptors. Normal IgG that was similarly treated had negligible competitive effects. The antibody bound to the membrane preparation; such binding was inhibited by opiate receptor ligands. Binding of the antiidiotype to a 60,000-dalton protein from rat brain was detected by Western immunoblot analysis. This protein corresponds in molecular weight to proteins proposed to be components of opiate receptors. These findings imply that immune reactivity to neuropeptides could contribute to psychiatric impairment.

Demonstration of morphine in ganglion cells of the hippocampus from victims of heroin overdose by means of anti-morphine antiserum

“…In accordance with the known opiate receptor distribution (Atweh and Kuhar 1977 a-c;Bero et al 1988;Bidlack et al 1988;Hassan et al 1989;Roy et al 1988;Schmidt et al 1994), tissue was taken from one side of the hippocampus, which is rich in µ-opiate receptors (Kuhar et al 1973;Mansour and Watson 1993) in formalin and subjected to a quantitative morphine and codeine analysis by means of GC/MS. These measurements were performed in a Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (HP 5890 GC Series II) and a Hewlett Packard mass spectrometer (MSD HP 5971 Series), whereby the limit of detection was around 2 ng/g and the limit of quantitation around 5 ng/g.…”

Autoantibodies against opioid or glutamate receptors are associated with changes in morphine reward and physical dependence in mice

“…Increased levels of aAbs to amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) or to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors have been evidenced in the serum of patients with intractable seizures (Rogers et al 1994;Twyman et al 1995) or brain ischemic stroke (Dambinova et al 2003), respectively. With respect to drug abuse, elevated levels of anti-idiotypic antibody against opiate receptors have been demonstrated in chronic opiate addicts (Roy et al 1988). In our recent study (Granstrem et al 2006), repeated administration of morphine induced a drastic elevation of aAbs to μ-δ opioid receptors (MDOR) and AMPA (but not NMDA) glutamate subunits in rats.…”

Anti-μ-opioid-receptor IgG antibodies are commonly present in serum from healthy blood donors: evidence for a role in apoptotic immune cell death

“…Thus, it could be speculated that exposure to a wide spectrum of food antigens, drugs, and microbes results in IgG antibody responses that show some (cross-) reactivity with the first and third extracellular loops of the hMOR. Alternatively, the presence of anti-hMOR antibodies could result from a secondary anti-idiotypic response against anti-opiate antibodies 30 that is generated by self-opioid or opioid peptides such as casomorphins released from bovine milk casein during digestion. 31 Our inability to isolate anti-MOR IgG from pooled serum samples from normal mice, whose nutritional and medicinal intakes differ from those of humans, strengthens the evidence that environmental antigens have a role in the occurrence of detectable anti-hMOR IgG in healthy blood donors.…”