Neuroscience Research Institute, State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA.
Med Sci Monit. 2009 Dec;15(12):RA263-8.
The widespread expression of morphine by plants, invertebrate and vertebrate cells/organ systems strongly indicates a high level of evolutionary conservation of morphine and related morphinan alkaloids as essential chemical factors required for normal growth and development. The prototype catecholamine dopamine (DA) serves as an essential chemical intermediate in morphine biosynthesis both in plants and animals. We surmise primordial, multi-potential cell types, before the emergence of specialized plant and animal cells/organ systems, required selective mechanisms to limit their responsiveness to environmental noise. Accordingly, cellular systems that emerged with the potential for recruitment of the free radical gas nitric oxide (NO) as a multi-faceted autocrine/paracrine signaling molecule were provided with extremely positive evolutionary advantages. Endogenous "morphinergic" in concert with NO-coupled signaling systems have evolved as autocrine/paracrine regulators of metabolic homeostasis, energy metabolism, mitochondrial respiration and energy production. Basic physiological processes involving "morphinergic"/NO-coupled regulation of mitochondrial function, with special emphasis on the cardiovascular system, are critical to all organismic survival. Critical to this concept may be the phenomenon of mitochondrial enslavement in eukaryotic evolution via morphine.
植物、无脊椎动物和脊椎动物细胞/器官系统广泛表达吗啡，这强烈表明吗啡和相关吗啡烷生物碱作为正常生长和发育所必需的化学因子在进化上高度保守。原型儿茶酚胺多巴胺 (DA) 既是植物又是动物中吗啡生物合成的必需化学中间产物。我们推测，在专门的植物和动物细胞/器官系统出现之前，原始的多潜能细胞类型需要选择性机制来限制它们对环境噪声的反应。因此，具有招募自由基气体一氧化氮 (NO) 作为多功能自分泌/旁分泌信号分子潜力的细胞系统获得了极其积极的进化优势。内源性“阿片样物质”与 NO 偶联信号系统一起进化为代谢稳态、能量代谢、线粒体呼吸和能量产生的自分泌/旁分泌调节剂。涉及线粒体功能的“阿片样物质”/NO 偶联调节的基本生理过程，特别是心血管系统，对所有生物体的生存至关重要。通过吗啡，真核生物进化过程中的线粒体奴役现象可能是这一概念的关键。
