Well I stumbled across this brief article on the homepage of nature and thought I would share.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100426/full/news.2010.202.html
Mice have been shown to metabolically produce morphine!
It seems that the long suspected biosynthetic pathway, known to exist in plants (papaver sp.), now has also been shown to be present in mice in vivo! (Grobe et al. 2010) The biosynthetic pathway differs between mammalian and plant organisms meaning that it more than likely evolved discretely. I don't know whether that is more unusual or not than if they had a common pathway but I suppose it isn't. Isotopes of H and O are used to prove that the metabolism is occuring and track the metabolites and also to prove that no contaminating or dietary source of morphine is contributing to the presence of the alkaloid.
The pathway has been demonstrated in human cells in vitro (Poeaknapo et al 2004) and this pathway is discussed with the biosynthetic precursors as evidence of the path to morphine and related metabolites.
Neither group extend to providing evidence or suggestion that the pathway contributes to pain relief or anything but it is interesting to know that it is there. I would love to see if there is any more data on this natural production in mammals and particularly in man. I will post more if/ when I find it.
Again there is another drug that we are naturally producing but are forbidden from possessing.
References:
(1) Poeaknapo et al. (2004) Endogenous formation of Morphine in human cells. Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
www.pnas.org?/cgi?/doi?/10.1073?pnas.0405430101
(2) Grobe et. al. (2010) Urinary excretion of morphine and biosynthetic precursors in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1003423107
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100426/full/news.2010.202.html
Mice have been shown to metabolically produce morphine!
It seems that the long suspected biosynthetic pathway, known to exist in plants (papaver sp.), now has also been shown to be present in mice in vivo! (Grobe et al. 2010) The biosynthetic pathway differs between mammalian and plant organisms meaning that it more than likely evolved discretely. I don't know whether that is more unusual or not than if they had a common pathway but I suppose it isn't. Isotopes of H and O are used to prove that the metabolism is occuring and track the metabolites and also to prove that no contaminating or dietary source of morphine is contributing to the presence of the alkaloid.
The pathway has been demonstrated in human cells in vitro (Poeaknapo et al 2004) and this pathway is discussed with the biosynthetic precursors as evidence of the path to morphine and related metabolites.
Neither group extend to providing evidence or suggestion that the pathway contributes to pain relief or anything but it is interesting to know that it is there. I would love to see if there is any more data on this natural production in mammals and particularly in man. I will post more if/ when I find it.
Again there is another drug that we are naturally producing but are forbidden from possessing.
References:
(1) Poeaknapo et al. (2004) Endogenous formation of Morphine in human cells. Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
www.pnas.org?/cgi?/doi?/10.1073?pnas.0405430101
(2) Grobe et. al. (2010) Urinary excretion of morphine and biosynthetic precursors in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1003423107
PNAS-2004-Poeaknapo-14091-6.pdf