Introduction Flashcards
Define pharmacology.
Study of Mechanisms by which drugs affect function of living systems.
What is a drug?
Biologically active compound.
What is a receptor?
Protein which signals a response upon activation by a ligand.
What is an agonist?
Drug that binds to a receptor to produce a response.
What is an antagonist?
Drug that prevents a response of an agonist.
What is occupancy?
Proportion of receptors occupied by agonist.
What is the formula for occupancy?
Number of receptors occupied / Total number of receptors
How can occupancy be measured directly?
Prepare pig ileum by treating with detergent and centrifuge
Aliquot membranes onto filters
Apply radiolabeled agonist at different concentrations and equilibrate
Remove unbound agonist via filtration
Measure radioactivity of filter
When measuring occupancy directly, why is the total binding count different from the specific binding count and which is the accurate representation of occupancy?
Total binding count includes specific and non-specific binding counts. Non-specific binding count represents the amount of drug being bound to non-biological material such as the filter itself. Specific binding count corresponds to the amount of agonist bound to the receptors hence gives an accurate measure of occupancy.
Give the formula for the law of mass action.
rate = (k+1)[agonist][free receptor]
rate = (k-1)[agonist-receptor complex]
At equilibrium:
(k+1)[agonist][free receptor] = (k-1)[agonist-receptor complex]
Give the formula for calculating KD.
KD = ((Xa)(Ntot-Na)/(Na)
Give the formula for KD in terms of rate constants.
KD = k-1/k+1
Give the formula for calculating occupancy Pa.
Pa = Xa/(KD+Xa)
Give the formula for occupancy in terms of the receptor agonist ratio.
Pa = Na/Ntot
Give the Langmuir equation.
Moles bound = Maximum moles of drug bound per mg of protein x occupancy
Bound = (Bmax)(Pa)
What is the Langmuir equation used for?
Conversion of occupancy to actual data.
Define affinity.
Probability of the drug binding to the receptor at any time.
How is KD used to estimate affinity?
A low KD (KD<1) means that rate of the backward reaction is lower than the rate of the forward reaction. This suggests that agonist is more likely to associate with a receptor than dissociate from it meaning it has a high affinity for the receptor. Vice versa.
Why can’t the biological response be determined from the affinity of the agonist for the receptor?
Biological response is the consequence of the binding of agonist and receptor and not the binding itself. Responses may be amplified after the agonist is bound. Different responses need different proportions of bound receptors.
How are biological responses compared?
By their EC50 - concentration of agonist needed to produce 50% of the max response.
Can EC50 be used to compare different drugs?
No, some drugs may not evoke a full response - partial agonists.
What is receptor reserve?
Spare receptors that don’t need to be bound to evoke a full response.
What is the function of the receptor reserve?
To enable chemicals to evoke a maximal response even when some receptors are occupied by an antagonist or other.
Give the formula for calculatin response.
Response = (Maximum Response x Concentration of Agonist^Hill Slope Factor)/((Concentration of Agonist^Hill Slope Factor) + (EC50^Hill Slope Factor)) Response = (max)(Xa^n)/((Xa^n) + (EC50^n))
What is potency?
Amound of drug needed to produce a response.
What is the Hill Slope Factor?
Measure of steepness of the response curve.
What can be determined from the HSF?
Whether one or mole molecule is needed to produce a response.
HSF>1 - More than 1 molecule is needed
HSF<1 - More than 1 receptor subtype exists
What is efficacy?
Measure of a single agonist-receptor’s ability to generate a response
What are the classes of antagonism?
Chemical
Pharmacokinetic
Physiological
Outline the basis of chemical antagonism with an example.
Antagonist binds to the agonist in solution
e.g.: Inactivation of heavy metals with dimercaprol - a chelating agent.
Outline the basis of pharmacokinetic antagonism with an example.
Inhibition of absorption of agonist in the GI tract (opiates).
Changing the rate of excretion of agonist (aspirin)
Changing the metabolism of agonist (Antibiotics on warfarin)
Outline the basis of physiological antagonism with an example.
Interaction of two drugs which have an opposite effect on the body. Noradrenaline increases heart rate, histamine does the opposite.
What is a non-competitive antagonist?
Antagonist which doesn’t compete for the receptor site. Blocks the pathway between binding and response.
What is a competitive antagonist?
Antagonist which acts at the level of the receptor. Competes for occupancy.
What is a reversible competitive antagonist?
Antagonist which can be washed off of the receptor to stop its action.
What is an irreversible competitive antagonist?
Antagonist which dissociates slowly or not at all. Some form a chemical (alkyl) bond with the receptor.
What is the Dose Ratio?
The ratio of agonist in the presence of an antagonist needed to evoke the same response.
How is DR calculated?
DR = [agonist in presence of antagonist]/[agonist in absence of antagonist]
What is pA2?
Measure of potency of antagonists.
How is pA2 calculated?
-log10[antagonist] that gives a dose ratio of 2.
What is the relationship between pA2 and strength of antagonist?
The greater the pA2 the stronger the antagonist. if pA2 = 6 then 1x10^-6M of antagonist are needed to give a dose ratio of 2.
How is DR calculated in terms of antagonist concentrations?
DR = [antagonist]/(antagonist equilibrium constant + 1)
What are the axes labels of a Schild plot?
y - log(DR-1)
x - log[Antagonist]
How can pA2 be estimated from a Schild plot?
pA2 is the negative of the x intercept of a Schild plot.
How is irreversible competitive antagonism time-dependent?
The longer the antagonist is bound the stronger its effect.
Why does irreversible competitive antagonism affect the max response after a while?
At first it uses up the receptor reserve.
Give an example of irreversible competitive antagonism.
Dibenamine is an antagonist to histamine receptors.
What is does study of pharmacokinetics involve?
Study of the time-course of drug action and how the drugs are processed in the body.
What are the stages of pharmacokinetics?
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
What defines pharmacokinetic absorption?
Movement of drug from site of administration to plasma.
Give examples of routes of drug administration.
Sublingual (under the tongue)
Epithelial (cornea)
What factors determine the site of drug administration?
Molecular weight
Lipid solubility
pH/ionisation
Transport (passive/active)
What are the major body compartments for drug distribution?
Extracellular fluid (plasma/interstitial/lymph)
Intracellular fluid
Transcellular fluid (cerebrospinal fluid)
Fat
What is the blood-brain barrier?
Wall of endothelial cells in the brain.
Connected by tight junctions which prevents drugs from entering CSF.
What can affect the blood-brain barrier?
Inflammation.
What is meant by drug metabolism?
Inactivation of drugs prior to excretion.
What are the two phases of drug metabolism
Phase 1 - Red/Ox/Hydrolysis
Phase 2 - Conjugation of functional groups
In what ways can drugs be excreted?
Renal - Penicillin cleared after single kidney filtration
GI - Billiary excretion through liver
Lungs
Describe the one compartment model of pharmacokinetics.
KA - Rate of absorption
VD - Volume of distribution
CP - Concentration in plasma
Kel - Rate of elimination
Kel is proportional to CP.
Decrease in CP is exponential.
Plasma half-life proportional to VD and inversely proportional to Kel
How can a steady concentration of drug in plasma be established?
Repeated doseage.
When is the two compartment model applied?
When drug disappearance doesn’t follow the trends of the one compartment model. A second compartment must exist where the drug may enter/leave via the central compartment.