Module 2B Flashcards
What are the 3 fundamental principles of drug action
i)Pharmacokinetics
ii) Pharmacodynamics
iii) pharmacology
Pharmacokinetics
describes the ADME which bring a drug to the site of action
Pharmacodynamics:
explains the relationship between the drug concentration at the site of action and the response
Pharmacology
explains the general properties of drug receptors and drug-receptor interactions at the basis of drug action
- The study of what drugs are, what drugs do and how drugs work
- This is done through chemical processed, mainly through binding to regulatory molecules
- When they bind to the regulatory molecules they will either activate or inhibit normal body processes
What is a pharmacologist
Studys action of drugs on physiological system, organs, cells, subcellular macromolecules
What is pharmacotherapeutics
- Study of the therapeutic uses and effects of drugs to relieve suffering or prevent disease
What is pharmacy
- Study of drug preparation, formulations
- Includes patient counselling
What is pharmacognosy
- Study of medicine from natural sources
What is toxicology
- Study of toxins/ poisons
Example of pharmacology in action
Ask about a person drinking grapefruit juice
- We are asking this as grapefruit inhibits one of the enzymes CYP 3A4 which breaks down statins and other drugs which means they will get to much of the drug and more likely to experience toxic effects
What are the fundamental principles of drug action
i. Pharmacokinetics explains an effective concentration at the site of action
ii. Pharmacodynamics explains the relationship between drug concentration and the response
iii. Pharmacology explains the binding of the drug to the receptor
What is a drug
- A chemical that interacts with molecules in the body to affect a physiological function
- Are promiscuous as they bind to many receptors
Two sources of drugs
a) Endogenous sources
- From the body (hormones, neurotransmitters)
- Anything with activity must bind to a receptor to fulfill its action
b) Exogenous
- Not from the body
- Plants (phytochemicals), marine life, micro-organisms, fungi, synthetic
- Most of the drugs that are prescribed are synthetic meaning man made
What is a receptor
- The macromolecule which a drug must bind to have an effect
- When the drug binds it changes the receptor to cause a biological function
What to receptors determine
- The quantitative (how much) relationship between dose/ concentration and effect
- Promiscuous meaning that they will bind to many ligands
- Responsible for drug selectivity and they mediate the actions of drugs
What is an inert binding site
- Molecules to which drug bind but the binding doesn’t cause any change which we can detect in the biologic system
- Eg. Albumin
Where can receptors be placed
- They can be many different places
- Extra/ intracellular, or transmembrane
What is an agonist
- Drugs that occupy receptors and activate them at full strength
What is a partial agonist
- Drugs that occupy receptors and activate them but less than the full amount
What are antagonist
- Drugs that occupy receptors and do not activate them
Explain the drug receptor interaction
- They need to be close enough to interact
- The affinity( how much they are attracted to eachother) is important as in they are in equilibrium in the biophase
- This interaction obeys the laws of mass action
What is signal transduction
- Getting a cellular signal across a cell membrane
- Moves from external to internal and allows for drug activity
What are the different types of interactions
a) Covalent
- Strongest
- Two atoms (one from drug and one from receptor) share an electron pair
- Often leads to an irreversible binding and often requires receptor destruction and function is resumed when there is synthesis of new receptors
b) Ionic
- Formed through electrostatic forces of ions with opposite charges
- Strength is decreased greatly due to distance
c) Hydrogen
- Most common
- The attraction between a hydrogen bond donor (H) and a hydrogen bond acceptor (N or O)
- Weak alone but can be stronger with many
- The basis to many drug-receptor interactions
d) Hydrophobic interactins
- Van der waals
- Very week
- Occur between non polar functional groups
- Contribute to but not responsible for D-R interactions
What is the pharmacophore
- The critical portion of the drug molecule that participates in the D-R binding
- Associated with the pharmacological effect
- The rest of the molecule will then be tweaked to have favourable PK
What are ion channels (two types)
- Allow the passage of specific ions
i. Ligand-gated: require binding of a ligand to open
ii. Voltage gated: require a threshold change in membrane potential
What are enzymes
- When a drug binds to an enzyme it is either a substrate for it (metabolized by it) or changes it its metabolic activity
What is a transporter
- Drugs bind to transported often interfere with the movement of other molecules across plasma membranes or between organelles
4 mechanisms of drug signaling
i. Ligand gated ion channel: responds in milliseconds
ii. G-protein coupled receptor: seconds
iii. Kinase- liked and related receptors: hours
iv. Nuclear receptor: hours