Lichtgedanken 05

S C HW E R P U N K T 31 05 | LICHT GEDANKEN Contact Prof. Dr Stefan Schulz Institute of Pharmacy and Toxicology Drackendorfer Straße 1, D-07747 Jena Germany Phone: +49 36 41 9-39 56 51 Email: stefan.schulz@med.uni-jena.de www.ipt.uniklinikum-jena.de Original publication: Multisite phosphorylation is required for sustained interaction with GRKs [...], Science Signaling (2018), DOI: 10.1126/ scisignal.aas9609 control a sophisticated interplay of en- zymes and scaffold proteins. In com- parison to morphine, synthetic opioids increase the activity of enzymes and accelerate the desensitization of recep- tors,« sums up the lead author of the study, Dr Elke Miess. In addition to the standard molecular genetic methods, which were used in the cell culture, the scientists also applied highly sensitive bio-optical methods in their research. The proof that the protein arrestin had been bound to the receptor in individu- al cases was provided from three diffe- rent procedures. »We were able to explain vital molecular details of drug tolerance to opiod anal- gesics«, summarizes Stefan Schulz the results of the study. »The study provi- des helpful approaches for the develop- ment of opioids that are less addictive and less prone to tolerance.«  On the photo, there are various medicines. Those with an analgesic effect, which are ac- quired from opium or synthetically produced, are called opioids. Their effects are based on the bonds of the active substances with endogenous opioid receptors.