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Papers of the Week
Design and development of novel, short, stable dynorphin-based opioid agonists for safer analgesic therapy.
Abstract
The kappa opioid receptor has exceptional potential as an analgesic target, seemingly devoid of the many peripheral side-effects of Mu opioid receptors. Kappa-selective, small molecule pharmaceutical agents have been developed, but centrally-mediated side effects have limited their clinical translation. Here, we modify an active endogenous dynorphin peptide to improve drug-likeness and develop safer KOPr agonists for clinical use.