Which term describes a compound that will activate a specific subset of a receptor's signaling cascade, not more than that?

Which term describes a compound that will activate a specific subset of a receptor's signaling cascade, not more than that?

• A. Agonist
• B. Full agonist
• C. Biased agonist
• D. Inverse agonist

Answer: (C)

Biased agonism describes a compound that can activate only a specific subset of a receptor’s signaling pathways. Receptors, especially GPCRs, can couple to multiple downstream routes (like G protein signaling and beta-arrestin pathways). A biased agonist stabilizes receptor conformations that favor one pathway over others, so the ligand triggers signaling through that chosen route while limiting activation of the rest. This is different from a regular agonist, which tends to promote signaling broadly; a full agonist drives a maximal response across pathways; a partial agonist yields a submaximal response across all pathways; and an inverse agonist reduces constitutive activity rather than selectively activating pathways.

Biased agonism describes a compound that can activate only a specific subset of a receptor’s signaling pathways. Receptors, especially GPCRs, can couple to multiple downstream routes (like G protein signaling and beta-arrestin pathways). A biased agonist stabilizes receptor conformations that favor one pathway over others, so the ligand triggers signaling through that chosen route while limiting activation of the rest. This is different from a regular agonist, which tends to promote signaling broadly; a full agonist drives a maximal response across pathways; a partial agonist yields a submaximal response across all pathways; and an inverse agonist reduces constitutive activity rather than selectively activating pathways.