Cognitive & Neuroprotection
Dynorphin A
Dynorphin A is an opioid the body makes for itself, and it is the specific natural ligand for the kappa opioid receptor rather than the mu receptor that morphine occupies. That single difference is the whole interest in it: kappa activation damps pain without euphoria and tends the other way entirely, and the human studies on file recorded negative mood effects at the higher doses. It has been given intravenously in a heroin-withdrawal study, where doses up to 1,000 micrograms per kilogram were tolerated and the effect on withdrawal was small. No regulator has approved it, and it functions as a tool for studying stress and addiction rather than as something taken.
Last updated
Mechanism
Selective agonist at the kappa-opioid receptor, inhibiting neurotransmitter release through Gi-coupled signalling.
Reported effects
What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.
- Kappa-opioid research
- Opioid withdrawal context
- Pain signalling research
Dosing on file unverified
Dynorphin A(1-13): up to 1,000 µg/kg IV; Well tolerated at doses up to 1,000 µg/kg
Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.
Literature on file 3
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animal in vivo
Dynorphin Is a Specific Endogenous Ligand of the κ Opioid Receptor (Science 1982, cited 1027x) graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “pigs”
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animal in vivo
Dynorphin-(1-13), an extraordinarily potent opioid peptide (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1979, cited 596x) graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “rats”
Not graded
1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.
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not graded
NCT00000244: Effects of Dynorphin 1-13 on Heroin Addiction graded on: NCT00000244 is completed and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT00000244”
Identity
- UniProt
- P01213 (precursor)
Caveat on these identifiers
P01213 (prodynorphin) is correct for Dynorphin A only; beta-endorphin derives from POMC, not this precursor.
Notes unverified prose
Human studies: 1,000 µg/kg IV well tolerated; modest effect on opiate withdrawal; negative mood effects at high dose; Human studies up to 1,000 µg/kg IV; NCT00000244
Not on file 9
8 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.
- molecular weightnothing we hold supplies it
- molecular formulanothing we hold supplies it
- CAS registry numbernothing we hold supplies it
- PubChem identifiernothing we hold supplies it
- amino-acid sequencenothing we hold supplies it
- SMILES stringnothing we hold supplies it
- InChInothing we hold supplies it
- InChI keynothing we hold supplies it
- half-lifenothing we hold supplies it
Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.