ABSTRACT
Agomelatine is a psychopharmacological agent, which acts as a powerful agonist of the MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors (Ki = 6.15 × 10−11 M and 2.68 × 10−10 M, respectively). Their capacity for binding to the receptors is comparable to melatonin (Ki = 8.52 × 10−11 M and 2.63 × 10−10 M, respectively) (Ying et al. 1996; Álamo et al. 2008). On the other hand, agomelatine is an antagonist of the 5-HT2C serotonergic receptors (2.7 × 10-7 M) (Millan et al. 2003). Furthermore, agomelatine lacks afnity for adrenergic, dopaminergic, muscarinic, or histaminergic receptors (Bourin et al. 2004), responsible in part for the adverse effects of other antidepressants. In summary, agomelatine has a different prole to the other antidepressants present in our pharmacological arsenal, both “for what it does,” melatonergic agonist and 5-HT2C antagonist, and for “what it does not do”; it does not inhibit the reuptake of monoamines and lacks the capacity to block other receptors (Álamo et al. 2008).
