Page 28 - Abacoa Community News - November '24

Page 28, Abacoa

Science On The Cutting Edge from page 27 New Technology Opens Door To questions. Her scientific contributions have earned her
Understanding Opioids In Brain international recognition as a leader in neuroengineering,
with a focus on generating new molecular tools to
Through a massive effort developing and testing over understand and repair the brain. Research in the Tian Lab
1,000 variants, Tian’s team has optimized highly-sensitive focuses on technological innovation and interdisciplinary
biosensors based on the three opioid receptors. These collaboration to uncover the connection between brain
biosensors, originally developed while Tian was at the function and behavior in healthy and diseased states, such
University of California, Davis, emit fluorescence upon as neurological and psychiatric disorders. Tian’s goal is
Visualizing Addiction: How opioid binding to the sensor and turn off when the opioid is to find treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases that free
patients from debilitating symptoms without the unwanted
no longer there. The biosensors, therefore, serve as a proxy
New Research Could Change for opioid binding to specific opioid receptors. Introducing properties characteristic of existing therapeutics.
these sensors into the brain of an animal provides a way to
The Way We Fight The Opioid visualize opioid signaling across the brain in real time. About The Max Planck Florida Institute For

“The power of this new technology is that we now
Epidemic – July 15, 2024 have the tools to understand the natural opioid system in Neuroscience
the brain, including how to distinguish between different The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
New research from a Max Planck Florida Institute opioid effects. We can track endogenous opioid release in (MPFI), a not-for-profit research organization, is part
for Neuroscience researcher could transform how we real time, triggered by both reward and aversion and see the of the world-renowned Max Planck Society, Germany’s
understand the way opioids affect the brain. Despite differences in opioid signaling in different brain circuits.” most successful research organization with more than 80
significant discussion surrounding the ongoing opioid Tian’s team has already been sharing these new tools institutes worldwide. Since its establishment, 31 Nobel
crisis, current understanding of how opioids function in the widely to accelerate the impact this new technology will laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists
brain is quite limited. This is primarily due to challenges have on the understanding of opioids. including six in the last four years alone.
in observing and measuring opioid effects in the brain in As its first U.S. institution, MPFI provides exceptional
real time. However, a recent technological breakthrough Dong, C., Gowrishankar, R., Jin, Y., He, X. J., Gupta, neuroscientists from around the world with the resources
by Dr. Lin Tian, her research team, and collaborators, A., Wang, H., Sayar-Atasoy, N., Flores, R. J., Mahe, K., and technology to answer fundamental questions about
recently published in Nature Neuroscience, has overcome Tjahjono, N., Liang, R., Marley, A., Or Mizuno, G., Lo, D. brain development and function. MPFI researchers
these limitations and is set to transform how scientists study K., Sun, Q., Whistler, J. L., Li, B., Gomes, I., Von Zastrow, employ a curiosity-driven approach to science to develop
opioid signaling in the brain. M., … Tian, L. (2024). Unlocking opioid neuropeptide new technologies that make groundbreaking scientific
dynamics with genetically encoded biosensors. Nature discoveries possible. For more information, visit mpfi.org.
Neuroscience, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024- This research was supported by National Institutes of
01697-1. Health (NIH) including the NIH BRAIN Initiative, National
Institute of Drug Addiction and the National Institute of
About The Tian Lab Mental Health. This content is solely the responsibility of
the authors and does not necessarily represent the official
Dr. Lin Tian started as scientific director of the Max views of the funders.
Planck Florida Institute in October 2023. Before this, she
was the professor and vice chair in the Department of Help Us Make A Difference
Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University
of California Davis School of Medicine, where her work Gifts from donors like you help us advance our
on the development of the biosensors began and she research and find answers about the neural circuits
continues to remain as an adjunct professor. Tian’s research underlying debilitating conditions like addiction, mental
focuses on engineering optical sensors for monitoring and illness, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and more. Please
controlling neural circuitry in living, behaving animals. support our work by making a tax-deductible donation
Dr. Lin Tian and her research team have developed new These new imaging techniques have greatly impacted the today.
technology that will shed light on the diverse behavioral field of neuroscience, facilitating new types of biological
effects of opioid actions in the brain in response to painful experiments performed to address previously intractable Science On The Cutting Edge on page 29
and rewarding experiences. Image by Helena Pinheiro

MATCHMAKING
MATCHMAKING
What Do We Know About Opioid Signaling?
REVOLUTION
Pharmaceutical opioids, such as morphine and REVOLUTION
oxycodone, and illicit opioid drugs like heroin, affect
the brain and body by binding to opioid receptors on the
Representing Clients & Couples
surface of cells in the nervous system. These receptors Up-and-Down The East Coast, Est. 1991.
normally respond to naturally produced chemicals that are
released in your brain, called endogenous opioids, including
endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphins. Released in
response to pleasurable activities such as laughter, sex,
and exercise and aversive activities like injury and trauma,
these chemicals bind opioid receptors and reduce the ability
of neurons to receive and transmit signals. These cellular
effects ultimately lead to the cognitive and behavioral
effects associated with opioids, including positive feelings,
pain relief, and addiction.

Challenges In Understanding Opioid
Signaling

Numerous questions remain about how these behavioral
effects are caused by opioids and whether it is possible to
harness specific opioid properties such as pain relief without
undesirable effects, such as addiction. The opioid scientific
literature is extensive and has confirmed that targeting the
opioid system is of clinical interest – not only for pain
management but also, more recently, for the treatment of
mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Development of therapeutics that can target these health
challenges while preventing the tragedy of the current opioid PALM BEACHES
epidemic requires further understanding of the diverse
effects of opioids in the brain. TREASURE COAST
The diversity of opioid effects on the brain is driven
by more than 20 different opioid chemicals produced in
the brain and more than 500 different synthetic opioids. NORTHEAST USA
Most of these different opioids interact with all three types
of opioid receptors with different strengths. Their varied
effects depend on the concentration of opioid, the specific
receptors present and the brain circuits involved.
“Efforts are underway to harness various therapeutic
properties of opioids by targeting specific receptor actions
and brain circuits to develop more effective and safer
therapeutics. However, these efforts have been hampered Call. Start. Love.
T
by our inability to measure diverse opioid signaling in real
time in the brain effectively,” said Dr. Tian.