Partial agonists (such as buspirone, aripiprazole, buprenorphine, or norclozapine) bind and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered ligands which display both agonistic and antagonistic effects - when both a full agonist and partial agonist are present, the partial agonist actually acts as a competitive antagonist, competing with the full agonist for receptor occupancy and producing a net decrease in the receptor activation observed with the full agonist alone.[1] Clinically partial agonists can activate receptors to give a desired submaximal response when inadequate amounts of the endogenous ligand are present, or they can reduce the overstimulation of receptors when excess amounts of the endogenous ligand are present.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Principles and Practice of Pharmacology for Anaesthetists By Norton Elwy Williams, Thomas Norman Calvey Published 2001 Blackwell Publishing ISBN 0632056053
- ^ Zhu BT (2005). "Mechanistic explanation for the unique pharmacologic properties of receptor partial agonists". Biomed. Pharmacother. 59 (3): 76–89. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2005.01.010. PMID 15795100.
