Agonists, Antagonists

Agonists, Antagonists, and Receptors Made Easy! : 

Agonists, Antagonists, and Receptors Made Easy! Samantha Tucker, Amber Ames, Janet Stewart, and Alyson Odermann

Let’s Start with Receptors! : 

Let’s Start with Receptors! The clinical definition of a receptor is, “ a specific cellular protein that binds with a hormone before cellular response can occur.” What does this mean?? Well, think of this cell as a baseball player, with his glove being the receptor. Then, you can imagine that the baseball he catches is the chemical or “hormone” required to create a response in the cell!

Receptors are “picky” : 

Receptors are “picky” Receptors are extremely specific as to what they will bind with. This specificity can be thought of as a lock and key relationship. What if you tried to use your house key to start your car?? It wouldn’t work! Just as the wrong key won’t start your car, the wrong chemical substance, or hormone, won’t bind to the receptor!

What is an agonist? : 

What is an agonist? The word agonist can be associated with the word ACTION!! An agonist is a hormone that binds to a receptor located on a cell to create a response.

What is an antagonist? : 

What is an antagonist? The word antagonist can be associated with the term AGAINST!! An antagonist is a hormone that is the exact same shape as the agonist but BLOCKS a response in the cell, as well as the binding of agonists. If a baseball player catches an orange (representing the antagonist), not only is he not going to play baseball with the orange,but he also can’t catch the baseball (representing the agonist).

What is an antagonist? : 

What is an antagonist? The word antagonist can be associated with the term AGAINST!! An antagonist is a hormone that is the exact same shape as the agonist but BLOCKS a response in the cell, as well as the binding of agonists. If a baseball player catches an orange (representing the antagonist), not only is he not going to play baseball with the orange,but he also can’t catch the baseball (representing the agonist).

How does this apply to pharmacology? : 

How does this apply to pharmacology? Well, medications can be classified as either agonists or antagonists. A drug either binds to a receptor to create the specific cell response, or binds to the receptor to block the response from occurring (in other words, the baseball player can either catch the baseball or an orange, not both!)

Why should nurses care about agonists and antagonists? : 

Why should nurses care about agonists and antagonists? One key nursing responsibility is to know the signs and symptoms of adverse reaction to watch for when administering a drug. If the nurse understands the basic mechanisms of how the drug works in the body, he or she will be able to identify if the drug is creating undesirable effects that need to be reported to the physician. You are your patient’s LAST LINE OF DEFENSE against drug errors and dangerous interactions. Remember the 5 RIGHTS! RIGHT patient, medication, dose, route, and time!!! Knowing what you’re putting into your patient’s body just makes you a safer nurse, period!!!

A Quick Review!!! : 

A Quick Review!!! Receptors:: Like a baseball player’s glove! Agonist:: Like the baseball caught in the player’s glove, this elicits ACTION! Antagonist:: Like the player catching an orange in his glove, this BLOCKS the game from continuing!! Nursing Implications:: Knowing the basics of how the drug you are administering works in your patient’s body makes you a safer nurse!

We hope this has provided a basic understanding of the action of agonists and antagonists on receptors, thanks for watching! : 

We hope this has provided a basic understanding of the action of agonists and antagonists on receptors, thanks for watching!

References! : 

References! Mosby, Mosby. Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions (with Audio), 7th Edition. Lewis, Sharon Mantik. Medical-Surgical Nursing (Single Volume): Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems, 7th Edition. Perry, Anne Griffin. Clinical Nursing Skills & Techniques, 6th Edition.