Sex differences in the effects of Tyr-MIF-1 on morphine- and stress-induced analgesia.

There is evidence suggesting that the endogenous tetrapeptide, Tyr-MIF-1 (Tyr-Prol-Leu-Gly-amide), has antagonistic or modulatory effects on opioid-mediated analgesia. There is also substantial evidence for sex differences in opioid effects, whereby male rodents display greater levels of opioid-mediated analgesia than females. In the present study, determinations were made of the effects of Tyr-MIF-1 on morphine- and restraint stress-induced opioid analgesia in adult male and female deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus. Intraperitoneal treatment with Tyr-MIF-1 (0.10-10 mg/kg) reduced morphine- and stress-induced analgesia in both male and female mice, with Tyr-MIF-1 having markedly greater antagonistic effects in male than female mice. These results indicate that there are sex differences in the modulatory (antiopiate) effects of Tyr-MIF-1 on opioid-mediated analgesia.