Dynorphin Research

Goode TD, Bernstein MX, Totty MS, Alipio JB, Vicidomini C, Pathak D et al.

Contextual encoding in the dorsal hippocampus (DHPC) may recruit hypothalamic feeding modules to calibrate eating across environments, but the mechanistic instantiation of cells and circuits that undergird these processes is limited. Single-cell transcriptomics and transsynaptic tracing of the do...

Holguin G, Martin-Fardon R

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a significant problem in the United States, resulting in over 178,000 alcohol-related deaths annually. A central problem in treating AUD is the high rate of relapse to alcohol use even after protracted periods of abstinence. Stress is a major contributor to the ...

Remmers BC, Choi IB, Matsumura K, Nicot A, Cox S, Dobbs LK et al.

Human self-report data and rodent models indicate cocaine can induce negative affect, which may impact future cocaine use severity. Despite this, understanding of the neurobiology driving cocaine avoidance is limited. Within the striatum, the opioid peptides enkephalin and dynorphin are associate...

Liu X, Chen B, Dong X, Xie C, Liu K, Wu J et al.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that is characterized by a high metastatic capacity, limited therapeutic options, and a poor prognosis, largely because of its stemness properties and aberrant signaling. Dynorphin A, an endogenous opioid peptide, has been identified a...

Makabe H, Narita M, Nagumo Y, Fujiwara M, Hamada Y, Takise J et al.

Severe pain in patients with breast cancer is associated with poorer survival outcomes, yet the mechanisms linking nociceptive signaling to tumor progression remain unclear. In a clinical cohort, breast cancer patients whose moderate or severe pain improved under specialized palliative care exhib...

Holland RA, Smith KM, Bleimeister IB, Okoro JJ, Sherman SA, Zoltanski AV et al.

Opioid withdrawal is a common and distressing manifestation of opioid dependence which, if left untreated, frequently results in relapse, accidental overdose, and suicide. While much is known about the role of mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic neurons in mu opioid receptor-mediated reward,...

Wunsch F, Cassano E, Puls K, Wolber G, Szpakowska M, Chevigné A et al.

ACKR3 is a class A G protein-coupled receptor that is considered as an atypical chemokine receptor. It does not activate G proteins but efficiently recruits β-arrestin and mediates ligand internalization and was thus proposed as a scavenger receptor. Besides chemokines, ACKR3 internalizes a...

Zhang X, Zhang S, Wu S, Xu B, Feng J, Hu X et al.

Recently, κ-opioid receptor (KOR) agonists have been attractive therapeutic candidates for the treatment of pain and pruritus. To advance the development of effective and safer peripherally restricted KOR agonists, we designed, synthesized, and evaluated 21 novel chimeric peptides incorpora...

Silva JDN, de Sousa LMM, de Sousa ME, Vieira HR, Alves GA, Neifert NT et al.

Neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) that coexpress kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin (KNDy neurons) are considered the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator necessary for fertility. KNDy neurons are also metabolic sensors controlling the hypothalamic-pit...

Flores-Ramirez FJ, Pascasio G, Martin-Fardon R

Stress is a major contributor to the chronic nature of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Orexin (OX) neurons project to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT)-particularly the posterior part (pPVT)- a structure that plays a key role in stress regulation. The blockade of OX receptors in the p...

Sakono T, Munetomo A, Sato M, Ishiyama D, Oshimo Y, Yamamoto K et al.

In mammals, testosterone secretion from the testes is stimulated by pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and subsequent pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. GnRH/LH pulses are promoted by neurokinin B-neurokinin-3 receptor (NK3R) signaling and suppressed by dynorphin A-κ...

Naryzhnaya NV, Derkachev IA, Kurbatov BK, Mukhomedzyanov AV, Kilin M, Kan A et al.

Chronic continuous hypoxia (CCH) demonstrates a pronounced protective effect in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (IR). Opioids and opioid receptors play a significant role in this process. It has been previously shown that metabolic syndrome (MS) impairs the development of adaptive myocardial resista...

Yarur HE, Shirley SE, Wang H, Tejeda HA

The central amygdala (CeA) orchestrates defensive behaviors in response to aversive stimuli, yet the contribution of glial cells and the role of stress-related neuromodulators remain unknown. In this issue of Neuron, Zan et al.1 reveal that dynorphin/kappa opioid receptor signaling in CeA astrocy...

Moore JD, Bachmann LC, McElvain LE, Pfaff SL, Dulac C

Suckling by newborns is an instinctive behavior defining the mammalian class. Yet, due to experimental difficulty in assessing neural function in the very young, little is known about the neural control of this fundamental behavior. Here we develop molecular-genetic approaches to interrogate neur...

Martin CR, Giacometti LL, Barson JR, Raghupathi R

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is common among adolescents because of their participation in contact sports and mTBI is more likely to lead to depression-related behaviors in girls than boys. Various neuropeptides, often within the limbic system, have been implicated in the regulation of depr...

Ma L, Wei J, Deng MY, Ahmad KA, Huang J, Zhao MJ et al.

Previous studies have speculated the existence of a specific expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) that is independent of the nuclear transcription mechanism, this type of receptor may play a decisive role in analgesic effects. The effects were determined by behavioral assessment, whole-...

Wu W, Li Q, Yang F

Morphine and other opioid receptor agonists are the gold-standard treatments for acute and chronic pain states due to their efficient and persistent analgesic effects. However, side effects limit the application of opioid drugs, with morphine misuse causing related deaths at an estimated incidenc...

Lee A

Elinzanetant (Lynkuet™) is a non-hormonal, small-molecule neurokinin 1 (NK1) and 3 (NK3) antagonist being developed by Bayer for the treatment of vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which received its first approval in the UK in July 2025. As a neurokinin-targeted therapy, elinzanetant modulates the...

Racková J

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulsatility is under the influence of hypothalamic neuropeptides, especially neurons expressing kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin. These hypothalamic cells are called KNDy neurons. By integrating hormonal and environmental stimuli in the brain, they modulate t...

Akhtar MF, Ali S, Hassan F, Changfa W

Intense neuroendocrine and molecular pathways with environmental sensitivity maintain reproductive efficiency in seasonal breeders, together with donkeys. The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis functions as a primary controller through modifying gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secret...