Assessment of nociceptin/orphanin FQ and μ-opioid receptor mRNA in the human right atrium

The expression of mu (mu: MOP) and nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOP) receptors in the human myocardium is controversial. In this polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based study using human right atrial biopsies, we have (i) probed for mRNA encoding NOP receptor and its endogenous peptide precursor, ppN/OFQ, and mRNA encoding MOP and (ii) attempted to correlate expression with cardiac function. mRNA encoding MOP, NOP, and the precursor for NOP (ppN/OFQ) was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) using validated TaqMan((R)) primers and compared with a housekeeper (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, GAPDH). Q-PCR data are expressed as the difference in cycle threshold (delta C-t=C-tGene of interest-C-tGAPDH: high value, low expression) and patients were grouped according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Forty patients were recruited; NOP, MOP, and ppN/OFQ mRNA were measured in 38, 29, and 10 patients, respectively. delta C-t (median and range) values for NOP and MOP were 10.9 (7.8-13.7) and 16.0 (12.3-18.9), respectively, representing low expression of MOP and similar to 34-fold more NOP. MOP mRNA was not detected in seven samples and with delta C-t values of similar to 20, ppN/OFQ was considered absent. When patients were grouped into normal (> 50%) and impaired (< 50%) LVEF, there was no difference between the groups for either NOP or MOP. In some patients, intraoperative LVEF was estimated using transoesophageal echocardiography, and there was no correlation with either NOP or MOP. The human right atrium of patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure expresses mRNA encoding NOP and possibly low levels of MOP. This does not correlate with degree of cardiac dysfunction. In addition, the atrium does not express ppN/OFQ mRNA.