Evidence for the involvement of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in the modulation of opioid-induced antinociception and the inhibitory effects of exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields in the land snail.
Kavaliers M, Choleris E, Prato FS, Ossenkopp K · 1998
View Original AbstractExposure to a 60-Hz magnetic field reduced opioid-induced pain relief in land snails, and this effect appeared to involve nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase activity.
Plain English Summary
Researchers studied how nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) influence opioid-induced antinociception in the land snail Cepaea nemoralis, and whether these chemicals play a role in the effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field exposure. Pain relief was measured by how long snails took to withdraw their foot from a thermal stimulus of 40°C. Exposure to a 60-Hz magnetic field at 141 μT peak for 15 minutes reduced the enkephalinase-induced antinociception in the snails. The inhibitory effects of the magnetic field were significantly reduced by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor and significantly enhanced by a nitric oxide releasing agent.
Why This Matters
The study used land snails as the experimental model, measuring their response to a mild heat stimulus as a way to assess pain sensitivity. Antinociception was triggered in the snails using an enkephalinase inhibitor called SCH 34826, which the researchers described as likely enkephalin-mediated. The researchers suggested that NO and NO synthase have antagonistic effects on opioid-induced analgesia in the snail Cepaea. When the NO synthase inhibitor and NO releasing agent were used at doses that by themselves had no evident effect on nociceptive sensitivity, they still altered the magnetic field's inhibitory effect. The researchers suggested that ELF magnetic field exposure affects opioid analgesia by altering NO and NOS activity.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.141 mT
- Source/Device
- 60-Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 15 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0.141 mT for magnetic fields:
- 7Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 1.4Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The present study was designed to examine the effects of nitric oxide (NO) and calcium ion/calmodulin-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS) on opioid-induced antinociception and their involvement in mediating the inhibitory effects of exposure to ELF magnetic fields.
We observed that enkephalinase (SCH 34826)-induced, and likely enkephalin-mediated, antinociception ...
These results suggest that: (1) NO and NO synthase have antagonistic effects on opioid-induced analgesia in the snail, Cepaea and (2) the inhibitory effects of ELF magnetic fields on opioid analgesia involve alteration in NO and NO synthase activity.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_1998_evidence_for_the_involvement_396,
author = {Kavaliers M and Choleris E and Prato FS and Ossenkopp K},
title = {Evidence for the involvement of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in the modulation of opioid-induced antinociception and the inhibitory effects of exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields in the land snail.},
year = {1998},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006899398008440},
}