Synonyms: Ketalar | ketamine HCl
ketamine is an approved drug (FDA (1970))
Compound class:
Synthetic organic
Comment: Ketamine is a rapidly acting ionotropic glutamate channel blocker with broad therapeutic application, approved in 1970. The structure shown is the racemate that is also used as the hydrochloride PubChem CID 15851. Of the two ketamine enantiomers, esketamine (S enantiomer) is being developed as a drug in its own right, but the less active arketamine (R enantiomer) is not. A recent report (Nature April 2016) implicated certain ketamine metabolites and their stereoisomers in different mechanisms of action [3]. In particular, (2R,6R) 6-hydroxynorketamine seems to be responsible for NMDAR-independent antidepressant effects. The Nature paper authors filed a patent including some of the data [2].
Ketamine is on the World Health Organisation's List of Essential Medicines. Click here to access the pdf version of the WHO's 21st Essential Medicines list (2019). ![]() Ligand Activity Visualisation ChartsThese are box plot that provide a unique visualisation, summarising all the activity data for a ligand taken from ChEMBL and GtoPdb across multiple targets and species. Click on a plot to see the median, interquartile range, low and high data points. A value of zero indicates that no data are available. A separate chart is created for each target, and where possible the algorithm tries to merge ChEMBL and GtoPdb targets by matching them on name and UniProt accession, for each available species. However, please note that inconsistency in naming of targets may lead to data for the same target being reported across multiple charts. ✖![]() View more information in the IUPHAR Pharmacology Education Project: ketamine |
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References |
1. Dravid SM, Erreger K, Yuan H, Nicholson K, Le P, Lyuboslavsky P, Almonte A, Murray E, Mosely C, Barber J et al.. (2007)
Subunit-specific mechanisms and proton sensitivity of NMDA receptor channel block. J Physiol (Lond.), 581 (Pt 1): 107-28. [PMID:17303642] |
2. Wainer, IW et al.. (2013)
The use of (2r, 6r)-hydroxynorketamine, (s)-dehydronorketamine and other stereoisomeric dehydro and hydroxylated metabolites of (r,s)- ketamine in the treatment of depression and neuropathic pain. Patent number: WO2013056229. Assignee: US Government. Priority date: 14/10/2011. Publication date: 18/04/2013. |
3. Zanos P, Moaddel R, Morris PJ, Georgiou P, Fischell J, Elmer GI, Alkondon M, Yuan P, Pribut HJ, Singh NS et al.. (2016)
NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites. Nature, 533 (7604): 481-6. [PMID:27144355] |