Melanocortin-4 Receptor Polyclonal Antibody

Melanocortins are known to exert a broad array of physiological actions including 'melanogenesis, steroidogenesis, sexual function and inflammation, as well as appetite regulation and energy homeostasis'.¹ These actions are mediated (differentially or concurrently) in part by a family of G protein-coupled receptors, the melanocortin receptors 1-5 (MC1R-MC5R). Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) was first cloned in 1993 with transcripts expressed primarily in the brain.² Genetic studies of mice and humans have established a critical role of MC4R in appetite regulation.³ Heterozygous mutations in MC4R account for 1-6% of severe cases of human obesity. Thus, MC4R has been a prime target for therapeutic intervention in obesity.⁴ All known mammalian MC4Rs are 332 amino acids in length with an estimated molecular weight of 37 kDa. The protein is heavily glycosylated and appears at multiple positions on SDS-PAGE.⁵ Cayman’s MC4R Polyclonal Antibody mainly detects an unglycosylated protein at 37 kDa and a glycosylated protein at 55 kDa.

WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.

1. Yeo, G.S.H., and Siddle, K. Attractin' more attention-new pieces in the obesity puzzle? Biochem. J. 376, e7-e8 (2003).

2. Gantz, I., Miwa, H., Konda, Y., et al. Molecular cloning, expression, and gene localization of a fourth melanocortin receptor. The Journal of Biological Chemisty 268(20), 15174-15179 (1993).

3. Fan, W., Boston, B.A., Kesterson, R.A., et al. Role of melanocortinergic neurons in feeding and the agouti obesity syndrome. Nature 385, 165-168 (1997).

4. Crowley, V.E.F., Yeo, G.S.H., and O'Rahilly, S. Obesity therapy: Altering the energy intake-and-expenditure balance sheet. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 1(4), 276-286 (2002).

5. Ho, G., and MacKenzie, R.G. Functional characterization of mutations in melanocortin-4 receptor associated with human obesity. The Journal of Biological Chemisty 274(50), 35816-35822 (1999).