Researchers in the Department of Pharmacology have been awarded a major grant to investigate the intracellular mechanisms underlying tolerance to opiates such as morphine and heroin.

In collaboration with colleagues at the Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, Professor Graeme Henderson and Dr Chris Bailey are the recipients of a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), USA.

Work on the project will begin in October. Professor Henderson, who will be leading the project in Bristol, said: ‘Our application was rated very highly by NIDA. It is a great accolade to receive funding for our research from the American government at a time when research funding within the USA is being cut. It provides a major boost to our research.

‘Despite the health and social problems caused by tolerance to morphine, heroin and other opiate drugs, the mechanisms by which this adaptive process occurs are not well understood. Our recent work has demonstrated a novel, critical role for the intracellular enzyme, protein kinase C, in morphine tolerance. Independently, the group in Virginia, using a very different approach, has also provided evidence for the involvement of this protein.

‘This grant will now enable our two groups to collaborate closely to determine the precise mechanisms by which protein kinase C mediates morphine tolerance. It is only by understanding this process in greater detail that novel therapies for pain treatment and recovery from heroin addiction can be designed.’