pharmacology Flashcards
what is pharmacology?
study of drugs and how they interact with living systems
what is a drug?
a substance that when administered has a therapeutic effect, targets disrupted cell communication pathways for therapeutic effect
what is pharmacodynamics?
what drugs do to the body
diseases cause at least 1 breakdown in cellular communication, breakdown in cellular communication may involve?
- loss of signal
- failure of receptor to respond to signal
- multiple breakdowns
give an example of a condition which is caused as a result of loss of signal
diabetes type 1
what breakdown in cellular communication causes diabetes type 1?
beta cells in pancreas destroyed so no insulin is produced, insulin receptors on cell membrane not activated and so glucose is not taken up
what treatment is available for diabetes type 1?
insulin replenishment
give an example of a condition which is caused as a result of the target cell ignoring the signal
type 2 diabetes
what breakdown in cellular communication causes diabetes type 2?
insulin binds to its receptor, however the receptor is desensitised so is not activated and glucose is not taken up
what treatment is available for diabetes type 2?
diet and exercise, metformin
how does metformin work?
accumulates in hepatocytes, and reduces blood sugar by increasing insulin receptor expression
give an example of a condition which is caused as a result of the signal not reaching the target
MS
what is MS?
myelin is degraded, leading to muscle weakness and loss of coordination
what treatments are available for MS?
steroids, immune modifying drugs to prevent destruction, anti-inflammatory
give an example of a condition which occurs as a result of multiple breakdowns?
cancer
what is cancer?
uncontrolled cell growth
how does cancer occur?
absence of growth signals, resistance to apoptosis
what treatment is available to treat cancer?
surgery (remove cancer), radiotherapy (radiation to damage DNA), chemotherapy (Administration of anti cancer drug), imunetherapy (kill cells using monoclonal antibodies), vaccine
receptors re usually which type of protein?
trans-membrane
what are the 3 classes of membrane receptors?
- g-protein coupled receptors
- enzyme-linked receptors
- ion channel receptors
how do g protein coupled receptors work?
GPCRs interact with G proteins in the plasma membrane. When an external signaling molecule binds to a GPCR, it causes a conformational change in the GPCR. This change then triggers the interaction between the GPCR and a nearby G protein.
how do enzyme-coupled receptors work?
binding of an extracellular ligand causes enzymatic activity on the intracellular side
give an example of an enzyme coupled receptor?
receptor tyrosine kinase
how does receptor tyrosine kinase work?
signalling molecule binds to RTK, tyrosine kinase phosphorylates tyrosine proteins
what do ion channels do?
convert chemical messages into electrical
what are the 2 types of ion channel?
voltage gated and ligand gated
what is signal transduction?
Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events
what may 2 molecular level responses of signal transduction be?
regulate gene expression , regulate cellular metabolism
what are some macroscopic level responses to signal transduction?
differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis
what is an agonist?
a drug which acts to stimulate normal cell communication
what is an antagonist?
a drug which acts to inhibit normal cell communication
what is pharmacokinetics?
what the body does to drugs
what 2 things are used to calculate dosage of a drug?
pharmacodynamics (dose-response) and pharmacokinetics (bioavailability)
