Scientific Glossary

▾

Antagonists occupy receptor binding sites competitively (reversible) or non-competitively (irreversible), blocking the receptor's activation. Unlike agonists, they do not trigger a response — they prevent one. Competitive antagonists can be overcome by increasing agonist concentration; non-competitive antagonists cannot. In peptide research, understanding the antagonist/agonist distinction is critical for interpreting mechanism studies that use receptor blockers to confirm which pathway a peptide acts through.