title: Melanocortin receptors: identification and characterization by melanotropic peptide agonists and antagonists.
abstract: Hormones are chemical messengers released from cells to act on and control the activity of other cells. Hormonal ligands initiate their actions by interacting with receptive substances (Langley, 1906) of the target cells. These receptors are proteins that are either integral components of the cell membrane or are localized cytoplasmically within cells. Ligand-receptor interaction results in either the stimulation or inhibition of cellular activity. Since most hormones bind rather specifically to receptors possessed by their target cells, labeling of hormonal ligands can be utilized to identify and localize cells within an animal. In this report we discuss what is presently known about melanocortin receptors (MCRs) as studied by the use of labeled melanotropic peptide ligands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Arizona Research Laboratories, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hadley
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Hruby
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haskell-Luevano
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: al-Obeidi
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Sawyer
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018043:Receptors, Corticotropin / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D044101:Receptors, Melanocortin
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D018043:Receptors, Corticotropin; D044101:Receptors, Melanocortin; D009074:Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones