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CrazyisNSFW t1_jbsw2ma wrote

In short, when the ligand (can be peptides, drugs, proteins, etc.) binds to receptor, the said receptor will change its form ("conformational change") and allowing some kinds of actions, i.e. opening ion channel, releasing some kinds of intracellular molecules (second messenger system), increasing/decreasing transcription of some genes, etc.

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Some ligands can be highly specific to its receptor, but some ligands may act at many different receptors. The ligands can bind irreversibly or reversibly, allowing different duration of action and concentrations affecting how the receptor works. Some ligands may also compete for same space of receptor, allowing it to act in dose-dependent manner.

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References:

  1. Katzung BG. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Education; 2018.

  2. Whalen. Lippincott Illustrated Reviews: Pharmacology (Lippincott Illustrated Reviews Series) SEVENTH EDITION. Vol. 53, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. 2019.

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