Huidobro-Toro J P
Escuela de Psicología, Universidad de las Condes, Santiago de Chile.
Rev Med Chil. 1995 May;123(5):628-36.
The medicinal use of opium and of morphine in different cultures and ancient civilizations is described. Research within the past 40 years have demonstrated the existence of brain opiate receptors. Morphine and related opioid analgetic interact at these sites in the nervous system to produce the characteristic pharmacological effects of these drugs. The opiate receptors have structural homologies with a variety of other cell membrane receptors; they activate second messenger-based chemical transduction systems in the cell membrane and are endowed with several regulation mechanisms. These opiate receptors are presumably activated under specific physiological conditions by endogenous ligands (opiopeptins). It is currently thought that morphine mimicks the opiopeptins by interacting with these receptors either at different molecular subsites or with a different mode of action.
文中描述了鸦片和吗啡在不同文化及古代文明中的药用情况。过去40年的研究已证实脑内存在阿片受体。吗啡及相关阿片类镇痛药在神经系统的这些位点相互作用，从而产生这些药物的典型药理效应。阿片受体与多种其他细胞膜受体存在结构同源性；它们激活细胞膜中基于第二信使的化学转导系统，并具有多种调节机制。这些阿片受体可能在特定生理条件下被内源性配体（阿片肽）激活。目前认为，吗啡通过在不同分子亚位点或通过不同作用方式与这些受体相互作用来模拟阿片肽。
