Dose-Response Curve
Definition
A plot of effect against amount administered. A clean curve is among the stronger indications that an observed effect is real rather than noise, and the gap between the amount that first works and the amount that harms is the therapeutic window.
In more detail
Plotting effect against the logarithm of concentration gives the S-shaped curve that most pharmacology is read off. The flat lower section is where nothing measurable happens, the steep middle is where the system is most sensitive, and the upper plateau is where adding more changes nothing.
The midpoint is quoted as EC50 for an effect or IC50 for inhibition. It describes that curve in that assay, which is why values from different assays are not interchangeable: the same compound measured in a different system, with a different readout or a different incubation, returns a different number.
Terms used in this definition
Other entries this definition refers to.
What this means for research sourcing
Mechanistic terms like this describe how research compounds behave in vitro. See the mechanism overviews for compounds Volta stocks.
Related Terms in Pharmacology
GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1)
An incretin released from the small intestine after a meal. It raises insulin secretion when glucose is high, suppresses glucagon, slows gastric emptying and signals fullness centrally. Its native half-life is about two minutes.
GLP-1 Receptor
The G protein-coupled receptor GLP-1 acts at, expressed in pancreatic islets, the stomach, the heart and several brain regions. The breadth of that expression is why agonists at it affect more than blood glucose.
GLP-1 Receptor Agonist
A compound that activates the GLP-1 receptor. GLP-1 SM and GLP-1 LR are the approved examples, studied against glycaemic endpoints and against body weight, and the class is the reference point most newer incretin-receptor peptides are compared with.
GIP (Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide)
The second incretin, released from the upper small intestine, which also enhances glucose-dependent insulin secretion. It is a target of GLP-2 TZ alongside GLP-1 and of GLP-3 RT alongside GLP-1 and glucagon.
Incretin
A gut hormone released after eating that raises insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent way, meaning it acts when glucose is high and not when it is low. GLP-1 and GIP are the two in humans.
Glucagon
The pancreatic alpha-cell hormone that raises blood glucose through glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, and that also increases energy expenditure. Adding glucagon-receptor activity to an incretin agonist is what dual agonists such as survodutide do.
Insulin
The pancreatic beta-cell hormone that moves glucose out of the blood into muscle, liver and fat. It is a 51-residue two-chain peptide held together by disulfide bridges, and it was the first peptide hormone made recombinantly.
Amylin
A hormone co-secreted with insulin by pancreatic beta cells, which slows gastric emptying, suppresses glucagon and promotes satiety. Pramlintide is a synthetic analogue; cagrilintide is a long-acting acylated one.
