Buprenorphine antagonism of mu opioids in the rhesus monkey tail-withdrawal procedure.

The apparent in vivo dissociation constant (KA) and relative efficacy values for alfentanil, etonitazene, morphine, and nalbuphine were determined by comparing the effects of these agonists in the presence of buprenorphine with the effects of these agonists alone in the rhesus monkey tail-withdrawal procedure. Initial time course studies of buprenorphine alone indicated that 3.2 and 10 mg/kg produced increases in tail-withdrawal latencies when studied with 48 degrees C water for 48 hr. No increases in tail-withdrawal latency were found with either dose studied with 55 degrees C water. Buprenorphine produced dose-dependent shifts to the right for the antinociceptive effects of alfentanil, etonitazene, morphine and nalbuphine 72 hr after administration and decreased the maximal effects of morphine in 48 degrees C water and those of alfentanil and etonitazene in 55 degrees C water. Buprenorphine administration decreased the receptors available for agonist interaction to approximately 2%. The average apparent in vivo dissociation constant (KA) values for alfentanil, etonitazene, morphine and nalbuphine were 3.3, 0.073, 60 and 31 mg/kg, respectively. High efficacy estimates were determined for alfentanil (149-203) and etonitazene (174-203), whereas lower efficacy estimates were determined for nalbuphine (57) and morphine (17). The apparent in vivo dissociation constant of a pseudoirreversible antagonist (KB) value for buprenorphine averaged 0.15 mg/kg across agonists, temperatures and buprenorphine doses. These data extend and emphasize the significance of in vivo estimates of affinity and relative efficacy for drug classification.