title: Melanin-concentrating hormone in human and rat.
abstract: Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a neuropeptide originally isolated from chum salmon pituitaries. To explore physiological roles of MCH in mammals, we studied the regional distribution of immunoreactive MCH in the rat tissues and the presence of immunoreactive MCH in human adrenal glands, adrenal tumors and plasma by radioimmunoassay, and the expression of MCH mRNA in rat tissues and human brain tissues by Northern blot analysis. Immunoreactive MCH was present in every region of rat brain and neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary gland, with the highest concentrations found in the hypothalamus (48.3 +/- 6.6 pmol/g wet weight, mean +/- SEM, n = 6). The immunoreactive MCH in rat hypothalamus, frontal lobe, and pons and medulla oblongata was eluted in the position of synthetic human/rat MCH in reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. No immunoreactive MCH was detected in the rat peripheral tissues. Northern blot analysis showed that a single species of MCH mRNA (approximately 1 kb) was expressed specifically in the rat and human hypothalamus, but not detectable in other regions of brain or rat peripheral tissues. Immunoreactive MCH was not detected in human adrenal glands (< 0.5 pmol/g wet weight, n = 9) or adrenal tumors including pheochromocytomas. Immunoreactive MCH were not detected in plasma obtained from human healthy subjects (< 0.25 pmol/l) and rat (< 0.25 pmol/l).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physiology and Molecular Biology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Totsune
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sone
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mouri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shibahara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000737:chemistry; D008543:Melanins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D011149:Pons / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones; D008543:Melanins; D010907:Pituitary Hormones; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C019463:melanin-concentrating hormone