Mechanistic insights into the therapeutic properties of delta opioid receptor
- Sarah M. Bernhard
- Susovan Roy Chowdhury
- Tsuyoshi Murata
- Erin L. Reinl
- Nokomis Ramos-Gonzalez
- Elizabeth Denn
- Kevin Appourchaux
- Asuka Inoue
- Sarah K. England
- Jonathan F. Fay
- Susruta Majumdar
- Baron Chanda
- Tao Che
2026-03-25
The delta opioid receptor (DOR) is a promising target for treating pain, anxiety, and depression, yet no DOR-based drugs have reached the clinic. Here, we examine how ligands with varying therapeutic properties modulate DOR function. While full agonists rapidly internalize the receptor, partial agonists show a slower rate of internalization, and antagonists increase cell-surface DOR levels. High-resolution structures of ligand-bound DOR-G i1 complexes, including those with antagonists engaged, reveal key interactions that account for DOR ligand selectivity, potency, and efficacy. Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies show that DOR dynamically samples three distinct states (active, obligate preactive, and inactive), and transition rates are tuned by both ligand efficacy and G protein coupling. The endogenous agonist, met-enkephalin, not only stabilizes the active-state conformation but also catalyzes transitions between the active and inactive states. These results reveal how ligand-specific interactions and receptor dynamics can govern pharmacological profiles and provide a framework for developing DOR-targeted therapeutics.