The M3‑TT vaccine decreases the antinociceptive efects of morphine and heroin in mice
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Date
2023
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Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Description
Opioid use disorder is a public health problem worldwide. Currently, its efects are exacerbated by the absence of efective therapy. Active vaccination is likely to be a good therapeutic option. Opioid-drug vaccines consist of an opioid-based small molecule called hapten which is conjugated to a carrier protein to enhance immunogenicity. Some studies have suggested that an appropriate position of attachment of the hapten to the carrier protein enhances the efcacy of an opioid-based vaccine. Conjugation of a carrier protein (toxoid tetanus (TT)) to position 3′ of morphine produced high titers of morphine- and heroinspecifc antibodies. The objective of this study was to determine if the antibodies generated by the M3-TT vaccine can reduce the antinociceptive efects induced by diferent doses of heroin or morphine. Female Balb-c mice were immunized with the M3-TT vaccine. A solid-phase antibody-capture ELISA was used to monitor antibody titer responses after each booster dose in vaccinated animals. The study used tail-fick and hot-plate testing to evaluate the antinociceptive efects of heroin or morphine. The M3-TT vaccine produced
a specifc antibody titer of 1:450 000. The antibodies showed similar specifcity to heroin and morphine, which allowed reducing the antinociceptive efect of diferent doses of morphine and heroin. These features suggest that it is possible to use the vaccine as an adjuvant therapy that would maintain long-term abstinence in heroin-addicted patients.