Biogenetic effects of opiates.

Our laboratories have shown that opiate addicts have higher chromosome damage and sister chromatid exchange frequencies, and that these effects are more pronounced in the addicts when we employ enhanced culturing assays developed in our laboratory. We have also demonstrated that opiates diminish DNA repair capacity and reduce immunoresponsiveness as measured by T-cell E-rosetting and other assays. These interactions of opiates with T-lymphocytes may regulate cell metabolism and could thereby be responsible for the sensitivity of cells from opiate addicts to both genotoxic damage and immunological effects.