Receptors Flashcards
Which opiate receptor has the highest affinity for morphine
Mu receptor
What are endorphins and enkephalins
Endogenous ligands for opiate receptors
Drug definition
A known chemical structure which when administered to a living organism produces a biological effect
Types of drugs
Synthetic chemicals, plant chemicals and biopharmaceuticals
What is a biopharmaceutical
Something that is made from DNA
Medicine definition
A chemical preperation that contains one or more drugs admnistered to produce a therapeutic effect
What other compounds do medicines contain
Excipients, stabilizers and solvents
Examples of biopharmaceuticals
Proteins (could be endogenous), engineered proteins, antibodies, oligonucleotides, gene therapy and regenerative medicine
What is the first generation of biologics
Copies of endogenous proteins produced by recombinant DNA technology
What is the second generation of biologics
Engineered proteins to improve antibodies
Benefits of biologics
Your body doesn’t accept them but treats them as another human antibody
What can biologics be used for
Treating cancer and immune diseases
What does MAB mean at the end of a drug name
Monoclonal antibody
What does Humira do
Recognises an inflammatory mediator known as TNF alpha
How much does Humira cost
14,000 million
What is the basis of the Moderna vaccine to treat COVID
Injecting people with mRNA that codes for a protein
What is Pharmacoeconomics
Considers the cost benefit of a drug
What kind of proteins do drugs exert their actions on
Receptors, enzymes, transporters, ion channels
What macromolecules other than proteins can drugs exert their actions on to
Antibiotics and antimicrobials
How are receptors classified
Structure, pharmacology, signalling mechanisms
What can increasing the dose of a drug do and why
Lead to unwanted side effects because no drug is 100% selective and specific
What can malfunction and loss or receptors lead to
Disease
What is an agonist
A drug that causes the receptor to switch on and bring about a change within the cell once bound to
What is an inverse agonist
When bound to a receptor, they reduce signalling to that receptor