Nonspecific effect of morphine on the erythrocyte membrane

• Published in: Biofizika Vol. 49; no. 4; p. 680
• Main Authors: Kuznetsov, P E, Zlobin, V A, Nazarov, G V, Kuznetsova, N B, Rogacheva, S M, Gracheva, A A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Russia (Federation) 01-07-2004
• Subjects: Adenosine Triphosphatases - metabolism; Animals; Detergents - pharmacology; Erythrocyte Membrane - drug effects; Erythrocyte Membrane - metabolism; Fluorescence; Hemolysin Proteins; In Vitro Techniques; Light; Morphine - pharmacology; Rats; Receptors, Opioid - drug effects; Scattering, Radiation; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate - pharmacology; Water - metabolism
• ISSN: 0006-3029

The effect of low morphine concentrations on the plasmatic membranes of erythrocytes without opiate receptors was investigated. It was shown that the ATPase activity and hemolytic stability of erythrocytes, which characterize the state of cell membranes and the mobility of the near-membrane water phase, depend on the concentration of morphine, and this dependence is wave-like. The nonmonotonous dependence of the biological response was suggested to be due to changes in the structure of water hydrogen links near the membrane surface, induced by opiate molecules. The hypothesis was confirmed by the results of studies of morphine water solutions using the methods of fluorescent probe and light scattering. It was found that the intensity of light scattering by water and the mobility of its molecules considerably increase in the presence of strictly specified concentrations of morphine.