title: Melanin-concentrating hormone receptor: an orphan receptor fits the key.
abstract: The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), a hypothalamic peptide, was identified initially in teleost fish as a regulator of pigmentary changes in background adaptation, and was later also found, in mammals, to be a regulator of feeding and energy homeostasis. Its specific receptor remained an enigma until very recently when it was identified as the orphan G-protein-coupled receptor SLC-1. This review focuses on the identification, structure and signaling of the MCH receptor and discusses some of the implications of its discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Nothacker
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Civelli
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008543:Melanins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007028:Hypothalamic Hormones; D008543:Melanins; D010907:Pituitary Hormones; C019463:melanin-concentrating hormone