Intro to Pharmacology

Question 1

What is the study pharmacology?

Answer 1

The study of the effects of drugs on the function of living systems.

Question 2

What are the different categories of drugs?

Answer 2

Psychotropic drugs, medicines, poisons, and research tools.

Question 3

What are the main drug targets in the body?

Answer 3

Enzymes, transporters, ion channels, and receptors.

Question 4

What is a receptor?

Answer 4

A protein that recognizes and responds to a ligand, which is a chemical that binds to it.

Question 5

What types of ligands can bind to receptors?

Answer 5

Endogenous ligands (e.g., hormones, neurotransmitters) and exogenous ligands (e.g., drugs).

Question 6

What is the difference between an agonist and an antagonist?

Answer 6

An agonist activates a receptor, while an antagonist blocks the effect of an agonist without activating the receptor.

Question 7

What is potency in pharmacology?

Answer 7

Potency refers to the amount of agonist needed to produce a given response.

Question 8

What is the difference between affinity and efficacy?

Answer 8

Affinity is how effectively a ligand binds to its receptor; efficacy is how effectively it activates the receptor to induce a response.

Question 9

What is the difference between acute and chronic drug treatment?

Answer 9

Acute treatment induces an immediate response, while chronic treatment leads to delayed responses and possible tolerance.

Question 10

What is drug tolerance?

Answer 10

A decrease in a drug’s effectiveness after repeated use due to adaptive changes in the body.

Question 11

What changes occur in receptors during chronic drug treatment?

Answer 11

Receptor downregulation (decrease in receptor number) or desensitization (reduced functional response).

Question 12

What happens during drug withdrawal?

Answer 12

Adverse effects occur when drug treatment is stopped suddenly, as the body adjusts to a pre-drug state.

Question 13

What are ionotropic receptors?

Answer 13

Ionotropic receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast (msec) neurotransmission.

Question 13

What are GPCRs (G-Protein Coupled Receptors)?

Answer 13

GPCRs are metabotropic receptors that use G-proteins to mediate indirect signal transduction.

Question 14

What is the role of kinase-linked receptors?

Answer 14

Kinase-linked receptors mediate slow (sec-hours) responses by altering gene transcription through phosphorylation.

Question 15

What are nuclear receptors?

Answer 15

Nuclear receptors are located inside the cell and mediate very slow (hours-days) changes in gene expression.

Question 16

How are GPCRs activated?

Answer 16

Agonist binding activates G-proteins, triggering second messenger systems like adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C.

Question 17

How do kinase-linked receptors work?

Answer 17

Ligand binding causes receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation, activating second messenger proteins.

Question 18

What is the structure of nuclear receptors?

Answer 18

Nuclear receptors are single polypeptide chains with four domains: N-terminal, DNA binding, hinge, and ligand binding domains.

Question 19

How do drugs act on the body?

Answer 19

Drugs act as agonists or antagonists, binding to specific receptors to alter cell function and physiology.