Full agonists, partial agonists and inverse agonists

An agonist is a ligand that binds to a receptor and alters the receptor state resulting in a biological response. A full agonist reaches the maximal response capability of the system, and a partial agonist does not (even at full receptor occupancy). A partial agonist acts as an antagonist in the presence of a full agonist (if they compete for the same receptors). An inverse agonist is a ligand that by binding to receptors reduces the fraction of them in an active conformation. Spare receptors are said to exist wherever a full agonist can cause a maximum response when occupying only a fraction of the total receptor population.

Cii: To define and explain dose-effect relationships of drugs, including dose-response curves – Jenny's Jam Jar

β-Adrenoceptors as Molecular Targets in the Treatment of Hypertension - ScienceDirect

Agonist, Partial Agonist, Antagonist and Inverse Agonist for Receptors

Full article: Targeting the dopamine D3 receptor: an overview of drug design strategies

Comparison of full and partial agonists with different levels of

The classification of allosteric ligands with ATSM.

Unit 2 General Pharmacology (As per PCI syllabus)

Nicotinic Agonists and Antagonists

Competitive and non-competitive antagonists