Article Archive

Every article on The Agonists, grouped by topic. Educational information only, not medical advice.

Fundamentals

Fundamentals

What Is a Receptor Agonist? A Plain-Language Introduction

A plain-language introduction to receptor agonists: what receptors are, how natural messengers and medicines s…
Fundamentals

Agonists vs Antagonists: How Drugs Turn Receptors On and Off

How agonists activate receptors while antagonists block them, the difference between competitive and non-compe…
Fundamentals

Dose-Response Curves Explained: Potency, Efficacy and EC50

A clear explanation of dose-response curves in pharmacology: what EC50 and Emax mean, how potency differs from…
Fundamentals

Full Agonists vs Partial Agonists: Understanding Drug Efficacy

How intrinsic efficacy determines a drug's maximal response.
Fundamentals

Inverse Agonists: Drugs That Do the Opposite

How some drugs reduce receptor activity below its resting level.
Fundamentals

Receptor Selectivity: Why Drugs Act on Some Targets and Not Others

What receptor selectivity means in pharmacology, why it is relative rather than absolute, and how subtypes, ti…
Fundamentals

Receptor Desensitization and Drug Tolerance Mechanisms

Why receptors become less responsive with repeated agonist exposure.
Fundamentals

Biased Agonism: When One Receptor Sends Different Signals

What biased agonism (functional selectivity) means, how G protein and arrestin pathways differ, why it attract…
Fundamentals

Allosteric Modulators: Shaping Receptor Function Without Direct Activation

How drugs that bind a second site change the effect of agonists.

Receptor families

Receptor families

G Protein-Coupled Receptors: The Largest Family of Drug Targets

An introduction to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs): their seven-helix structure, the Gs, Gi and Gq signall…
Receptor families

Ligand-Gated Ion Channels: Fast Receptors and Their Agonists

How ligand-gated ion channels such as nicotinic, GABA-A, glycine, 5-HT3 and glutamate receptors work, how agon…
Receptor families

Nuclear Receptor Agonists: Steroids, Thyroid Hormone and PPARs

How nuclear receptors work as ligand-activated transcription factors, and how agonists such as corticosteroids…

Drug classes

Drug classes

Adrenergic Agonists: Alpha-1, Alpha-2 and Beta Receptors Explained

A guide to adrenergic receptor agonists: how alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, beta-2 and beta-3 receptors differ, and…
Drug classes

Beta-2 Agonists in Asthma Treatment

How beta-2 agonists relax the airways and how short- and long-acting types differ.
Drug classes

Cholinergic Agonists: How Drugs Mimic Acetylcholine

How cholinergic agonists act on muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, examples such as pilocarpine…
Drug classes

Dopamine Receptor Agonists: Mechanism and Clinical Context

How dopamine receptor agonists work: D1-like and D2-like receptors, why the class is used in Parkinson's disea…
Drug classes

Serotonin Receptor Agonists: From Migraine Treatment to Research

An overview of serotonin (5-HT) receptor families and the agonists that act on them: triptans and ditans for m…
Drug classes

Opioid Agonists and the Analgesic Effect

How opioid receptor agonists relieve pain, and why their risks are substantial.
Drug classes

GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: How This Drug Class Works

How GLP-1 receptor agonists work: the natural incretin hormone GLP-1, why the native hormone is short-lived, h…

History

History

A Short History of the Receptor Concept: From Langley and Ehrlich to Modern Pharmacology

How the idea of drug receptors developed: Langley's receptive substance, Ehrlich's chemoreceptors, Clark's occ…

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