Role of the melanocortin-4 receptor in metabolic rate and food intake in mice.
We evaluated the role of the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC-4R) in the control of metabolic rate and food intake in mice. Intraperitoneal administration of the non-selective MC-R agonist melanotan II (MT-II; a cyclic heptapeptide) increases metabolic rate in wildtype mice, while MC-4R knockout mice are insensitive to the effects of MT-II on metabolic rate. MC-4R knockout mice are also insensitive to the effects of MT-II on reducing food intake. We conclude that MC-4R can mediate control of both metabolic rate and food intake in mice. We infer that a role for MC-3R in mediating the acute effects of MT-II on basal metabolic rate and food intake in wildtype mice seems limited.
Chen
A S
AS
Department of Metabolic Disorders, Merck Research Laboratories, NJ, USA.
Metzger
J M
JM
Trumbauer
M E
ME
Guan
X M
XM
Yu
H
H
Frazier
E G
EG
Marsh
D J
DJ
Forrest
M J
MJ
Gopal-Truter
S
S
Fisher
J
J
Camacho
R E
RE
Strack
A M
AM
Mellin
T N
TN
MacIntyre
D E
DE
Chen
H Y
HY
Van der Ploeg
L H
LH
D000818:Animals; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009043:Motor Activity; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044105:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4; D018000:Receptors, Peptide / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*
D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D044105:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4; D018000:Receptors, Peptide; C079282:melanotan-II; D000521:alpha-MSH