Translational Medical Center for Stem Cell Therapy and Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
J Sport Health Sci. 2023 Jan;12(1):45-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2021.02.001. Epub 2021 Feb 20.
Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R), the most important monogenetic cause of human metabolic disorders, has been of great interest to many researchers in the field of energy homeostasis and public health. Because MC4R is a vital pharmaceutical target for maintaining controllable appetite and body weight for professional athletes, previous studies have mainly focused on the central, rather than the peripheral, roles of MC4R. Thus, the local expression of MC4R and its behavioral regulation remain unclear. In an attempt to shed light on different directions for future studies of MC4R signaling, we review a series of recent and important studies exploring the peripheral functions of MC4R and the direct physiological interaction between peripheral organs and central MC4R neurons in this article.
黑皮质素 4 受体 (MC4R) 是人类代谢紊乱的最重要的单基因病因，它一直是能量平衡和公共卫生领域许多研究人员关注的焦点。因为 MC4R 是维持职业运动员可控食欲和体重的重要药物靶点，所以之前的研究主要集中在 MC4R 的中枢作用，而不是外周作用。因此，MC4R 的局部表达及其行为调节仍不清楚。为了为 MC4R 信号的未来研究指明不同的方向，本文综述了一系列最近的重要研究，探讨了 MC4R 的外周功能以及外周器官与中枢 MC4R 神经元之间的直接生理相互作用。
