title: Role of the melanocortin-4 receptor in metabolic rate and food intake in mice.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolic Disorders, Merck Research Laboratories, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Metzger
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Trumbauer
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Frazier
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Forrest
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gopal-Truter
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Strack
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Mellin
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: MacIntyre
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Van der Ploeg
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D044105:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4; D018000:Receptors, Peptide; C079282:melanotan-II; D000521:alpha-MSH