# Dopamine D2 receptor

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/drd2/  
OnCo record `drd2` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The dopamine D2 receptor is how cabergoline and bromocriptine shrink prolactin-secreting pituitary tumours without surgery, and it is the target of the antiemetics metoclopramide and prochlorperazine used during chemotherapy.

## Summary

The D2 dopamine receptor on pituitary lactotroph cells inhibits prolactin release, so the dopamine agonists cabergoline and bromocriptine are the first-line treatment for prolactinomas, normalising prolactin and shrinking the tumour in most patients; they also have some effect in other pituitary adenomas and in neuroendocrine tumours that express the receptor. In supportive care, D2 antagonists such as metoclopramide, prochlorperazine and olanzapine treat chemotherapy-induced nausea. D2 receptor expression on glioblastoma and other tumour cells has prompted trials of the antagonist ONC201 (dordaviprone), which acts on D2 and on the mitochondrial protease ClpP and was approved in 2025 for H3 K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Tags: chembl-gap
- Symbol: DRD2
- Class: other
- Biology: A Gi-coupled G-protein-coupled receptor that lowers cyclic AMP; in the pituitary it suppresses prolactin gene expression and lactotroph proliferation.
- Where found: Pituitary lactotrophs, striatum and chemoreceptor trigger zone; Prolactinomas, some neuroendocrine tumours and gliomas

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D2
- UniProt P14416: DRD2: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P14416/entry
- HGNC:3023 DRD2: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:3023
- ChEMBL target CHEMBL217: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/explore/target/CHEMBL217

## Connected records

- targets: [Somatostatin receptor 2](https://onco.cc/targets/sstr2/)
- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/), [Neuroendocrine tumours](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroendocrine/), [Pituitary tumours (pituitary neuroendocrine tumours) and pituitary carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pituitary-tumours/)
- drugs: [Dordaviprone](https://onco.cc/drugs/dordaviprone/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/drd2.json