Abstract
Agouti-related protein (AGRP) is one of two naturally occurring antagonists of G-Protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) identified to date, and has been physiologically implicated in regulating food intake, body weight, and energy homeostasis. AGRP has been identified in vitro, as competitively antagonizing the brain melanocortin-4 (MC4R) and melanocortin-3 (MC3R) receptors, and when over expressed in transgenic mice, results in an obese phenotype. Emerging data propose that AGRP has additional targets in the hypothalamus and/or physiologically functions via a mechanism in addition to competitive antagonism of α-MSH at the brain melanocortin receptors. We report data herein supporting an alternative mechanism for AGRP involvement in feeding behavior. A constitutively active MC4R has been generated which possess EC50 values for melanocortin agonists (α-MSH, NDP-MSH, and MTII) and a pA2 value for the synthetic peptide antagonist SHU9119 identical to the wildtype receptor, but increases basal activity to 50% maximal response. AGRP possesses inverse agonist activity at this constitutively active MC4R. These data support the hypothesis for an additional physiological mechanism for AGRP action in feeding behavior and energy homeostasis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Regulatory Peptides |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 5 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work has been funded by NIH Grant RO1-DK57080-01 (C.H.L.), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Resources Program, University of Florida and Carrie Haskell-Luevano is a recipient of a Burroughs Wellcome fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences.
Keywords
- Energy Homeostasis
- Feeding
- MC4R
- Melanotropin
- Neuropeptide
- Obesity
