Rasha Hamoudi
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Jessica Anand
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Pharmacology / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Authors:
Abstract
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 80,816 opioid-related deaths occurred in 2021; fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was responsible for around 71,000 of them. While fentanyl has clinical use to treat pain, it also has addictive properties and can prevent breathing at high doses. This respiratory depression is the cause of opioid overdose death. The current opioid overdose treatment, naloxone, doesn’t last long enough to reverse a fentanyl overdose, which leads to increased deaths from fentanyl compared to other opioids like heroin or morphine. This project aims to find an overdose treatment that is more effective than naloxone at reversing fentanyl deaths by testing newly designed molecules. We test several compounds of similar structure to determine their affinity for the target receptor, the mu opioid receptor, and an off-target receptor, the kappa opioid receptor. My portion of the project aims to investigate whether these new compounds will bind to the kappa opioid receptor. Stimulation of the kappa opioid receptor can result in side effects such as hallucinations, which are undesirable in a new potential drug. By examining how changes in structure change the affinity of the compound for the mu and kappa opioid receptors, we can understand what changes in the structure of the molecule make it more efficient or less efficient at binding. This will allow us to narrow down options when redesigning compounds so they are specific for the target receptor. We expect to find some compounds that will bind with more selectivity to the mu opioid receptor rather than the kappa opioid receptor. The findings of this project could lead to new drugs that will allow us to save lives and inch closer to preventing all opioid-related deaths.
