Kyotorphin (tyrosine-arginine): further evidence for indirect opiate receptor activation.

Analgesia, opiate receptor binding, and neurochemical effects of kyotorphin (tyrosine-arginine) were studied in the rat. It was found that while kyotorphin, in vivo, causes naloxone reversible analgesia, and affects dopamine metabolism and acetylcholine turnover in the same manner as do morphine and other opiate agents, the dipeptide does not bind to mu, delta or kappa opiate receptors in vitro. Taken together, these data support the concept that there is an indirect action of kyotorphin on opiate receptors.