Mechanism of Action
The potassium-sparing diuretics are competitive antagonists that either compete with aldosterone for intracellular cytoplasmic receptor sites, or directly block sodium channels (specifically epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) by amiloride). The former prevents the production of proteins that are normally synthesized in reaction to aldosterone. These mediator proteins are not produced, and so stimulation of sodium-potassium exchange sites in the collection tubule does not occur. This prevents sodium re-absorption and potassium and hydrogen ion secretion.
Read more about this topic: Potassium-sparing Diuretic
Famous quotes containing the words mechanism of, mechanism and/or action:
“A mechanism of some kind stands between us and almost every act of our lives.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)
“The law isn’t justice. It’s a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answer. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“Thought is the seed of action; but action is as much its second form as thought is its first.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)