Agonist
Agonists
An
agonist is a substance that binds to a
receptor and triggers a response by the
cell. An agonist is the opposite of an
antagonist in the sense that while an antagonist also binds to the receptor, it fails to activate the receptor. A
partial agonist activates a receptor but does not cause as much of a physiological change as does a
full agonist. The receptors of the human body work by being stimulated or inhibited by natural (such as
hormones) or synthetic (such as
drugs) agonists and antagonists.
Etymology
Stems from the Late Latin word agnista, contender, from the Greek agnists, contestant, from agn, contest. An agonist is a chemical contestant or contender.