Abstract
The process of energy homeostasis is a highly regulated process involving interacting signals between a variety of anorexigenic and orexigenic peptides, proteins and signaling molecules. The melanocortin system is an important component of this complex regulatory network. Involvement of the melanocortin pathway in the control of food intake and body weight regulation has been studied extensively in the past two decades. Previous studies that involve central administration of melanocortin molecules and examination of molecules that effect food intake in melanocortin knockout (KO) mice (MC3R, MC4R, POMC, AGRP and NPY) have been examined. In this review, we have summarized feeding studies that have resulted in the recognition of the melanocortin system as a major contributor to the complex neuroendocrine system regulating energy homeostasis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1788-1799 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Peptides |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2005 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank the financial support provided by NIH Grants RO1-DK57080, RO1-DK64250 and RO1-DK63974. Carrie Haskell-Luevano is a recipient of an American Diabetes Association Research Award. Boman Irani is a recipient of an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship.
Keywords
- Food intake
- Knockout
- Melanocortin
- Obesity
