Ming Hu
University of Houston, TX·Pharmacology
Buprenorphine is one of only three drugs used to treat opioid use disorder alongside counseling, and most patients take it as a tablet or film that dissolves under the tongue. In 2022 the U.S.
- Fields
Pharmacology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
buprenorphine
opioid use disorder
medication assisted treatment
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Sep 2028
What they work on
- Determine why buprenorphine, an opioid use disorder medication, reaches much higher levels in saliva than in blood, testing whether it accumulates in salivary glands, using LC-MS drug measurement in rodents.
- Test whether blocking buprenorphine buildup in salivary glands, or giving a saliva stimulant, lowers drug levels in the mouth without reducing the amount reaching the bloodstream.
- Establish a mouse model of dental caries driven by Streptococcus mutans that responds to varying buprenorphine concentrations, and use it to test whether reducing oral drug exposure prevents tooth decay.
More about the research
Food and Drug Administration warned that these oral forms can seriously damage teeth in a significant share of patients. Buprenorphine levels in saliva are typically 10 to 100 times higher than in blood. Why the drug lingers in the mouth, and how that leads to tooth decay (dental caries), is unknown. Patients with opioid use disorder have few treatment options, so understanding this side effect matters.
Why it matters
People in treatment for opioid use disorder who take buprenorphine under the tongue risk serious tooth decay. Identifying why the drug concentrates in saliva could point to drugs or saliva stimulants that lower drug levels in the mouth while keeping its effect in the body. Patients could then keep taking this important medication with less harm to their teeth.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Zezhang Wen
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, LA·Microbiology & Immunology
Identify the transcriptional and post-transcriptional factors that control expression of brpA, a gene needed for biofilm formation in Streptococcus mutans, using molecular, biochemical and bioinformatics approaches.
Jose Lemos
University of Florida, FL·Microbiology & Immunology
Uncover the regulatory mechanisms that let Streptococcus mutans tolerate high zinc, focusing on ZccE, a zinc-exporting pump unique to this species, and its regulator ZccR, using genetic and mutational approaches.
Ryan Ruff
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Quantify the long-term caries-arresting effect of school-based silver diamine fluoride using CariedAway trial data, including the added benefit of repeat application and whether treating posterior teeth lowers new decay in anterior teeth.
The school
University of Houston: 21 labs on PI Pages, $239M a year on research, 374 research doctorates a year.
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