Ligand-gated ion channels 2 Flashcards
1
Q
What are 5 drug targets of GABAARs
A
1.Benzodiazepines
2. Alcohol
3. Barbiturates
4. Anaesthetics
5. Neurosteroids
2
Q
What action do BZs have
A
- Multiple actions e.g. anxiety relieving, anticonvulsants
3
Q
What action does alcohol have
A
- Ethanol binds to GABAARs (as well as ACh, 5HT, NMDA-Rs)
- NOT selective for GABAaRS
4
Q
What action do barbiturates have
A
- pentobarbital has sedative/anticonvulsant effects
5
Q
What action does anaesthetics have
A
- e.g. etomidate & propofol are volatile anaesthetics that act at GABAARs
6
Q
What are examples of neurosteroids
A
- Metabolites of progesterone & deoxycorticosterone
7
Q
What are positive modulators
A
- enhance agonist induced action
- Some BZs increase GABA induced Cl- channel opening by increasing efficacy of GABA for channel opening by increasing open frequency probability
8
Q
What are negative modulators
A
- reduce agonist-induced action
- e.g. Some BZs decrease GABA induced Cl- channel opening
9
Q
What do barbiturates do and compare to BZs
A
- barbiturates (e.g. pentobarbital) bind to a different site and prolong lifetime of open state – even in the absence of GABA
- BZs are allosteric modulators – therapeutic advance on barbiturates as safer
10
Q
Why are allosteric modulators used as LGIC drug targets rather than antagonists?
A
- Large repertoire of allosteric modulators for a particular receptor
- Binding of an allosteric modulator is not restricted to the ligand-binding site or the ion pore
- Orthosteric antagonists can cause insurmountable blockade of the receptor and obliterate the physiological response
- Positive modulators could “turn up” an inhibitory pathway
- Negative allosteric modulators reduce agonist sensitivity and activity
- Can target particular receptor subtypes depending on subunit composition
- Keep the temporal and spatial activation of the receptors- only activates when GABAa is present
- Understanding of subunits gives potential for increased selectivity
11
Q
What is the allosteric site
A
- Benzodiazepines are allosteric modulators that bind at the interface between the a/g subunit – allosteric site
12
Q
Describe structure of BZs
A
- The core of all BZ ligands is a benzene ring joined to a 7-membered 1,4-diazepine ring
- R side groups influence affinity and intrinsic efficacy
13
Q
What do BZs do
A
- BZs enhance the response to GABA by facilitating the opening of GABA activated chloride channels
- They bind specifically to a regulatory site of the receptor
- act to allosterically increase the affinity of GABA for the receptor
14
Q
What are the different classes of BZs
A
- Bz agonists- 100% efficacy- whether you turn up or down effect of intrinsic GABA
- BZ inverse agonists- bind to the site but produce the opposite effect and are said to have negative intrinsic efficacy- negative allosteric modulators
- BZ antagonists- bind the a/g site but are unable to activate the receptor- intrinsic efficacy=0
15
Q
What are positive allosteric modulators
A
- Full agonist
- Partial agonist
16
Q
What are negative allosteric modulators
A
- Antagonists
- Inverse agonists- turn down amount of chloride going through the GABA receptor