Drug Target Sites: Receptors Flashcards
In which ways do drugs act?
Therapeutically to prevent disease, relieve the symptoms and (sometimes) cure the condition
What is a drug?
Chemical substance/natural product which affects body function (i.e.bioactive)
What do drugs include?
Active agents of medicines (therapeutic agents) as well as drugs of abuse
What is an exogenous agent?
Manufactured outside the body
What is an endogenous agent?
Something the body manufactures in order to carry out a specific function e.g. hormones
Give an example of a hormone that’s both an endogenous and exogenous agent?
Adrenaline
What are some examples of drugs?
Aspirin (aka acetylsalicylic acid- acetyl derivative of salicylic acid)- analgesic (pain relieving)
Diamorphine (aka diacetylmorphine, heroin)- analgesic (pain relieving) Valium (aka Diazepam)- anxiolytic (anti-anxiety)
Sildenafil (aka Viagra)- vasodilator
What are cells, tissues and organs controlled by?
Nervous system
Humoral agent
Local factors
How do drugs affect normal working cells?
By mimicking or blocking the action of the ‘endogenous’ agent at specific cellular targets
In what ways can a drug be classified?
By nature
By action
Which cell components are involved
Which of the body systems does the drug affect
How does the drug help in the disease state
In what way can drugs be classified in nature?
Where or how it is obtained (e.g. origin of the drug, chemical structure)
In what way can drugs be classified by their action?
How and where the drug acts
What do all drugs do?
Interact with some part of a cell to produce a response
In what way can drugs be classified by the components involved?
Receptors
Ion channels
Enzymes
Carrier molecules
In what way can drugs be classified by the system the drug effects?
E.g. cardiovascular, respiratory, immune, endocrine
In what ways can drugs be classified by how the drug helps in the disease state?
I.e. therapeutic/clinical effects
Where do drugs act on a cell?
Either on or inside the surface of cells
What are drugs main targets?
Receptors (MAIN)
Ion channels
Enzymes
Carrier molecules
What is a drug receptor?
A large (macromolecular) protein structure
What do drug receptors participate in?
Intracellular communication via chemical signals
What happens when some agents dock a receptor?
Trigger a series of events
What are the primary cells arranged to within the body?
Muscle
Nervous
Epithelial
Connective tissues
What happens upon recognition of an appropriate chemical signalling molecule (ligand)?
Receptor proteins transmit the signal into a biochemical change in the target cell
What do drug + receptor give?
Response