[Do general anesthetics act on specific receptors?].
First of all, the meanings of the terms anaesthesia, anaesthetic and receptor are defined. Examples of anaesthetic actions in model systems are then described and compared with clinical actions of anaesthetics. When anaesthetics achieve a certain membrane concentration, they begin to influence membrane protein function in a nonspecific manner. If the anaesthetic drug possesses polar functional groups in addition to lipophilic ones, it may selectively affect membrane proteins and interact with them specifically. The absolute lipophilicity of a drug does not necessarily determine whether or not a drug is a suitable anaesthetic. Rather, it is important that the drug does not show undesirable side effects when it achieves a critical membrane concentration at which lipophilic interactions occur. There are examples of specific interactions of general anaesthetics with receptors as well as examples of nonspecific effects on membranes. Whether these interactions are important for anaesthesia remains to be seen.
Klinik und Poliklinik für Anästhesiologie und Spezielle Intensivmedizin, Universität Bonn.
B W
BW
Urban
D S
DS
Duch
C
C
Frenkel
B
B
Rehberg
H C
HC
Wartenberg
D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000187:drug effects*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
D000777:Anesthetics; D007473:Ion Channels; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter
Greifen Allgemeinanästhetika an spezifischen Rezeptoren an?