Elsevier

Life Sciences

Volume 53, Issue 12, 1993, Pages 997-1006
Life Sciences

Morphine treatment in vitro or in vivo decreases phagocytic functions of murine macrophages

https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(93)90122-JGet rights and content

Abstract

Studies were performed to compare in vitro and in vivo effects of morphine on the phagocytic function of murine peritoneal macrophages. Macrophage monolayers were incubated with Candida albicans for 30 min in the absence of autologous serum. Morphine added in vitro was found to decrease both the phagocytic activity (percent of phagocytic cells) and the phagocytic index (average number of ingested yeasts per cell) in a concentration-dependent manner, with maximal effects of 26% and 41%, respectively, at 10−6 M. When morphine was administered in vivo via an implanted 75-mg pellet, there was a 22% decrease in phagocytic activity and a 40% decrease in the phagocytic index. Naltrexone completely blocked the effects of morphine both in vitro and in vivo. The results suggest that morphine is capable of interacting directly with opioid receptors on macrophages, resulting in a decrease in phagocytic function.

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      It is well established that the activation of opioid receptors by the administration of morphine, or other selective or non-selective opioid agonists, alters both innate immune competence and adaptive immune competence. Acute administration studies conducted in vitro with cell culture, or in vivo analysis with rodents, have demonstrated modulation of antibody responses (Taub et al., 1991; Guan et al., 1994; Eisenstein et al., 1995), phagocytic cell function (Rojavin et al., 1993; Szabo et al., 1993), natural killer (NK) cell activity (Weber and Pert, 1989), and the development and function of T cells in the thymus (Linner et al., 1996; McCarthy and Rogers, 2001; McCarthy et al., 2001) with opioid administration. Previous studies have shown that the production of IL-2 and IFNγ was inhibited following subcutaneous administration of morphine to rats (Lysle et al., 1993).

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