DAMGO is a synthetic opioid peptide

Opioid peptide

Opioid peptides are short sequences of amino acids that bind to opioid receptors in the brain; opiates and opioids mimic the effect of these peptides. Opioid peptides may be produced by the body itself, for example endorphins. The effects of these peptides vary, but they all resemble opiates...

 with high μ-opioid receptor

Mu Opioid receptor

The μ-opioid receptors are a class of opioid receptors with high affinity for enkephalins and beta-endorphin but low affinity for dynorphins. They are also referred to as μ opioid peptide receptors. The prototypical μ receptor agonist is the opium alkaloid morphine; μ refers to morphine...

 specificity. It was synthesized as a biologically stable analog of δ-opioid receptor

Delta Opioid receptor

The δ-opioid receptors, also known as delta opioid receptor or simply delta receptor, abbreviated DOR, is an opioid receptor that has enkephalins as its endogenous ligands.-Function:...

-preferring endogenous opioid

Opioid

An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...

s, leu- and met-enkephalin

Enkephalin

An enkephalin is a pentapeptide involved in regulating nociception in the body. The enkephalins are termed endogenous ligands, or specifically endorphins, as they are internally derived and bind to the body's opioid receptors. Discovered in 1975, two forms of enkephalin were revealed, one...

.

Its structure is H-Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-N-MePhe-Gly-OH.

DAMGO has been used in experimental settings for the possibility of alleviating or reducing opiate tolerance for patients under the treatment of an opioid. Such treatment on rats, adding DAMGO to morphine administration, showed that after seven days morphine had as much of an effect at the same dosage as the first day when administered together with DAMGO to the rats.