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Melatonin receptor agonist
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<p>Melatonin receptor agonists are analogues of <a href="/facts/Melatonin/LEyEWg18">melatonin</a> that bind to and activate the <a href="/facts/Melatonin_receptor/bLeLtoGX">melatonin receptor</a>. <a href="/facts/Agonist/nz8U5NNp">Agonists</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Melatonin_(medication)/wFN8JhB7">melatonin</a>, with better <a href="/facts/Pharmacokinetics/x4CUUnle">pharmacokinetics</a> and longer <a href="/facts/Elimination_half-life/7nB2JtMr">half-lives</a>. Melatonin receptor agonists were developed with the melatonin structure as a model. </p><p>The melatonin receptors are <a href="/facts/G_protein-coupled_receptors/0arUMkQc">G protein-coupled receptors</a> and are expressed in various tissues of the body. There are two subtypes of the receptor in humans, <a href="/facts/Melatonin_receptor_1/lXM6TBCE">melatonin receptor 1</a> (MT1) and <a href="/facts/Melatonin_receptor_2/h5lrgx7z">melatonin receptor 2</a> (MT2). Melatonin and melatonin receptor <a href="/facts/Agonist/nz8U5NNp">agonists</a>, on market or in <a href="/facts/Clinical_trials/q8LMr832">clinical trials</a>, 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. </p>