Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 2022;189(1):215-257. doi: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2022.03.003. Epub 2022 Apr 22.
Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R), expressed abundantly in the hypothalamus, is a critical regulator of energy homeostasis, including both food intake and energy expenditure. Shortly after the publication in 1997 of the Mc4r knockout phenotypes in mice, including increased food intake and severe obesity, the first mutations in MC4R were reported in humans in 1998. Studies in the subsequent two decades have established MC4R mutation as the most common monogenic form of obesity, especially in early-onset severe obesity. Studies in animals, from fish to mammals, have established the conserved physiological roles of MC4R in all vertebrates in regulating energy balance. Drug targeting MC4R has been recently approved for treating morbid genetic obesity. How the MC4R can be exploited for animal production is highly worthy of active investigation.
黑皮质素-4 受体（MC4R）在大脑下丘脑大量表达，是能量平衡的关键调节因子，包括食物摄入和能量消耗。1997 年在小鼠中发表了 Mc4r 敲除表型后不久，包括食物摄入增加和严重肥胖，1998 年首次在人类中报道了 MC4R 的突变。在随后的二十年的研究中，MC4R 突变已被确定为最常见的单基因肥胖形式，尤其是在早发性严重肥胖中。从鱼类到哺乳动物的动物研究已经确定 MC4R 在所有脊椎动物中调节能量平衡的保守生理作用。最近，针对 MC4R 的药物已被批准用于治疗严重遗传性肥胖症。MC4R 如何被用于动物生产非常值得积极研究。
