# Membrane Trafficking of Opioid and Adrenergic Receptors

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $464,732

## Abstract

Abstract
Opioid and catecholamine receptors are key regulators of neurophysiology and behavior, and
are important targets of therapeutic and abused drugs. These receptors are fundamentally
regulated by endocytosis and specific membrane trafficking events in the endocytic pathway.
Endocytic membrane trafficking has long been recognized to influence adaptation or
maladaptation of the endogenous opioid and catecholamine systems to chronic or repeated
drug administration. It is now evident that endocytic trafficking of receptors also impacts the
acute response and may thereby differentiate the actions of therapeutically and addiction -
relevant drugs over a wide time frame. In the previous funding period we defined much of the
biochemical machinery determining the endocytic regulation of opioid receptors, and
established effects on both long-term and acute signaling. The proposed studies build on
progress made in the previous funding period to elucidate a fundamentally new mechanism of
opioid and adrenergic receptor signaling based on receptor activation in internal membrane
compartments as well as the plasma membrane.
We propose to (1) Define mechanisms that limit GPCR signal strength or duration from
endosomes; (2) Determine how endocytosis facilitates downstream transcriptional control by
GPCRs; and (3) Delineate membrane trafficking properties of opioid receptors in axons.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10074551
- **Project number:** 5R01DA010711-25
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark E VonZastrow
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $464,732
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-01-15 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10074551

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10074551, Membrane Trafficking of Opioid and Adrenergic Receptors (5R01DA010711-25). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10074551. Licensed CC0.

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