Agonist-selective effects of opioid receptor ligands on cytosolic calcium concentration in rat striatal neurons.

Buprenorphine is an opioid receptor ligand whose mechanism of action is incompletely understood.Using Ca(2+) imaging, we assessed the effects of buprenorphine, β-endorphin, and morphine on cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration [Ca(2+)](i), in rat striatal neurons.Buprenorphine (0.01-1 μM) increased [Ca(2+)](i) in a dose-dependent manner in a subpopulation of rat striatal neurons. The effect of buprenorphine was largely reduced by naloxone, a non-selective opioid receptor antagonist, but not by μ, κ, δ or NOP-selective antagonists. β-Endorphin (0.1 μM) increased [Ca(2+)](i) with a lower amplitude and slower time course than buprenorphine. Similar to buprenorphine, the effect of β-endorphin was markedly decreased by naloxone, but not by opioid-selective antagonists. Morphine (0.1-10 μM), did not affect [Ca(2+)](i) in striatal neurons.Our results suggest that buprenorphine and β-endorphin act on a distinct type/subtype of plasmalemmal opioid receptors or activate intracellular opioid-like receptor(s) in rat striatal neurons.