The Guts of the Opioid Crisis

Bidirectional interactions of the gut epithelium with commensal bacteria are critical for maintaining homeostasis within the gut. Chronic opioid exposure perturbs gut homeostasis through a multitude of neuro-immune-epithelial mechanisms, resulting in the development of analgesic tolerance, a major underpinning of the current opioid crisis. Differences in molecular mechanisms of opioid tolerance between the enteric and central pain pathways pose a significant challenge for managing chronic pain without untoward gastrointestinal effects.