Melatonin receptor agonist

Melatonin receptor agonists are analogues of melatonin that bind to and activate the melatonin receptor. Agonists of the melatonin receptor have a number of therapeutic applications including treatment of sleep disorders and depression. The discovery and development of melatonin receptor agonists was motivated by the need for more potent analogues than melatonin, with better pharmacokinetics and longer half-lives. Melatonin receptor agonists were developed with the melatonin structure as a model.

Melatonin receptor agonist
Drug class
Melatonin, the prototypical melatonin receptor agonist
Class identifiers
UseSleep disorders, depression, ADHD, etc.
ATC codeN05CH
Biological targetMelatonin receptor
Clinical data
WebMDRxList
External links
MeSHD008550
Legal status
In Wikidata

The melatonin receptors are G protein-coupled receptors and are expressed in various tissues of the body. There are two subtypes of the receptor in humans, melatonin receptor 1 (MT1) and melatonin receptor 2 (MT2). Melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists, on market or in clinical trials, all bind to and activate both receptor types. The binding of the agonists to the receptors has been investigated since 1986, yet is still not fully understood. When melatonin receptor agonists bind to and activate their receptors it causes numerous physiological processes.

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