Intrathecal administration of MCRT produced potent antinociception in chronic inflammatory pain models via μ-δ heterodimer with limited side effects

An important goal in the opioid field is to discover effective analgesic drugs with minimal side effects. MCRT demonstrated potent antinociceptive effects with limited side effects, making it a promising candidate. However, its pharmacological properties and how it minimizes side effects remain unknown. Various mouse pain and opioid side effect models were used to evaluate the antinociceptive properties and safety at the spinal level. The targets of MCRT were identified through cAMP measurement, isolated tissue assays, and pharmacological experiments. Immunofluorescence was employed to visualize protein expression. MCRT displayed distinct antinociceptive effects between acute and chronic inflammatory pain models due to its multifunctional properties at the μ opioid receptor (MOR), µ-δ heterodimer (MDOR), and neuropeptide FF receptor 2 (NPFFR2). Activation of NPFFR2 reduced MOR-mediated antinociception, leading to bell-shaped response curves in acute pain models. However, activation of MDOR produced more effective antinociception in chronic inflammatory pain models. MCRT showed limited tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia in both acute and chronic pain models and did not develop cross-tolerance to morphine. Additionally, MCRT did not exhibit addictive properties, gastrointestinal inhibition, and effects on motor coordination. Mechanistically, peripheral chronic inflammation or repeated administration of morphine and MCRT induced an increase in MDOR in the spinal cord. Chronic administration of MCRT had no apparent effect on microglial activation in the spinal cord. These findings suggest that MCRT is a versatile compound that provides potent antinociception with minimal opioid-related side effects. MDOR could be a promising target for managing chronic inflammatory pain and addressing the opioid crisis.