MC3R links nutritional state to childhood growth and the timing of puberty.

The state of somatic energy stores in metazoans is communicated to the brain, which regulates key aspects of behaviour, growth, nutrient partitioning and development1. The central melanocortin system acts through melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) to control appetite, food intake and energy expenditure2. Here we present evidence that MC3R regulates the timing of sexual maturation, the rate of linear growth and the accrual of lean mass, which are all energy-sensitive processes. We found that humans who carry loss-of-function mutations in MC3R, including a rare homozygote individual, have a later onset of puberty. Consistent with previous findings in mice, they also had reduced linear growth, lean mass and circulating levels of IGF1. Mice lacking Mc3r had delayed sexual maturation and an insensitivity of reproductive cycle length to nutritional perturbation. The expression of Mc3r is enriched in hypothalamic neurons that control reproduction and growth, and expression increases during postnatal development in a manner that is consistent with a role in the regulation of sexual maturation. These findings suggest a bifurcating model of nutrient sensing by the central melanocortin pathway with signalling through MC4R controlling the acquisition and retention of calories, whereas signalling through MC3R primarily regulates the disposition of calories into growth, lean mass and the timing of sexual maturation.

The melanocortin receptors: lessons from knockout models.

Identifying the role of the melanocortin system in regulating energy homeostasis has relied on both genetic and pharmacological studies. The key findings included 1) that the coat color phenotype in the lethal yellow (A(Y)/a) mouse is due to antagonism of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) by the agouti gene product; 2) the MC3R and MC4R are expressed in CNS centers involved in energy homeostasis, and 3) the combined results of pharmacological studies showing that agouti is an antagonist of the MC4R and transgenic studies showing that inhibition or loss of the MC4R recapitulate the lethal yellow phenotype. Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), MC3R, and MC4R knockouts are obese and are now being used to further analyze melanocortin receptor function. The obesity phenotype observed in the MC3R and MC4R knockouts (KO) differ markedly. MC4RKO mice are hyperphagic, do not regulate pathways that increase energy expenditure (diet-induced thermogenesis) and physical activity in response to hyperphagia, and can develop type 2 diabetes. In contrast, MC3R deficient mice are not hyperphagic, have a normal metabolic response to increased energy consumption, and do not develop diabetes. The mechanism underlying the increased adiposity in the MC3R knockout remains unclear, but might be related to changes in nutrient partitioning or physical activity.

Expression of functional melanocortin-4 receptor in the hypothalamic GT1-1 cell line.

Mutations in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4-R) cause obesity in both mice and humans, and the receptor is presumed to have an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. The MC4-R is expressed in discrete sets of neurons in the central nervous system, and thus it has been technically difficult to study the regulation of expression and the signaling mechanisms of this receptor. We report here a neuronal cell line that exhibits endogenous functional expression for the MC4-R. Initially, RT-PCR analysis showed the presence of MC4-R RNA in the hypothalamic GT1-1 and GT1-7 cells. In addition, GT1-7 cells expressed melanocortin-3 receptor while the GT1-1 subclone specifically expressed predominantly the MC4-R RNA. High-affinity binding sites were demonstrated in the GT1-1 and GT1-7 cells for NDP-alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH; K(i) = 1.1 x 10(-10) and 1.8 x 10(-10) M) and agouti-related protein (AGRP; K(i) = 1.548 x 10(-9) and 1.663(-9) M). alpha-MSH-stimulated cAMP production in GT1-1 cells with an EC(50) of 2.2 x 10(-8) M, and cAMP production was inhibited in the presence of AGRP, an endogenous antagonist of the MC4-R. Stimulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion was achieved with 1 nM to 1 microM concentrations of NDP-alpha-MSH while no GnRH secretion was observed when the GT1-1 cells were treated with AGRP. The data presented here show that GT1-1 cells specifically express a functional MC4-R that couples to GnRH release.

Induction of neuropeptide Y gene expression in the dorsal medial hypothalamic nucleus in two models of the agouti obesity syndrome.

Dominant mutations at the agouti locus induce several phenotypic changes in the mouse including yellow pigmentation (phaeomelanization) of the coat and adult-onset obesity. Nonpigmentary phenotypic changes associated with the agouti locus are due to ectopic expression of the agouti-signaling protein (ASP), and the pheomelanizing effects on coat color are due to ASP antagonism of alpha-MSH binding to the melanocyte MC1 receptor. Recently it has been demonstrated that pharmacological antagonism of hypothalamic melanocortin receptors or genetic deletion of the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4-R) recapitulates aspects of the agouti obesity syndrome, thus establishing that chronic disruption of central melanocortinergic signaling is the cause of agouti-induced obesity. To learn more about potential downstream effectors involved in these melanocortinergic obesity syndromes, we have examined expression of the orexigenic peptides galanin and neuropeptide Y (NPY), as well as the anorexigenic POMC in lethal yellow (A(y)), MC4-R knockout (MC4-RKO), and leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice. No significant changes in galanin or POMC gene expression were seen in any of the obese models. In situ hybridizations using an antisense NPY probe demonstrated that in obese A(y) mice, arcuate nucleus NPY mRNA levels were equivalent to that of their C57BL/6J littermates. However, NPY was expressed at high levels in a new site, the dorsal medial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH). Expression of NPY in the DMH was also seen in obese MC4-RKO homozygous (-/-) mice, but not in lean heterozygous (+/-) or wild type (+/+) control mice. This identifies the DMH as a brain region that is functionally altered by the disruption of melanocortinergic signaling and suggests that this nucleus, possibly via elevated NPY expression, may have an etiological role in the melanocortinergic obesity syndrome.

Identification of a receptor for gamma melanotropin and other proopiomelanocortin peptides in the hypothalamus and limbic system.

Corticotropin (ACTH) and melanotropin (MSH) peptides (melanocortins) are produced not only in the pituitary but also in the brain, with highest concentrations in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and the commisural nucleus of the solitary tract. We have identified a receptor for MSH and ACTH peptides that is specifically expressed in regions of the hypothalamus and limbic system. This melanocortin receptor (MC3-R) is found in neurons of the arcuate nucleus known to express proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and in a subset of the nuclei to which these neurons send projections. The MC3-R is 43% identical to the MSH receptor present in melanocytes and is strongly coupled to adenylyl cyclase. Unlike the MSH or ACTH receptors, MC3-R is potently activated by gamma-MSH peptides, POMC products that were named for their amino acid homology with alpha- and beta-MSH, but lack melanotropic activity. The primary biological role of the gamma-MSH peptides is not yet understood. The location and properties of this receptor provide a pharmacological basis for the action of POMC peptides produced in the brain and possibly a specific physiological role for gamma-MSH.

The interaction of signal transduction pathways in FRTL5 thyroid follicular cells: studies with stable expression of beta 2-adrenergic receptors.

Multiple signal transduction pathways interact in FRTL5 cells to promote thyroid follicular cell differentiated function and cell proliferation. In these cells, TSH is a tissue-specific mitogen that promotes DNA synthesis primarily through activation of adenylate cyclase. To further test the role of adenylate cyclase in regulating cell growth and differentiated function we have introduced into FRTL5 the human beta 2-adrenergic receptor (BAR) complementary DNA and have studied the ability of isoproterenol, alone and in combination with insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), to stimulate cAMP accumulation, iodide transport, [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA, and cell growth. Wild-type FRTL5 were infected with a PLJ retroviral construct containing the BAR in either a sense (FRTL BAR) or antisense (FRTL RBAR) orientation, and cell populations were selected on the basis of resistance to the antibiotic geneticin. FRTL BAR expressed approximately 1.3 x 10(5) high affinity binding sites per cell for the beta 2-specific ligand, CGP-12177, while neither FRTL5 wild-type nor RBAR cells demonstrated any specific binding. FRTL BAR had significantly higher levels of intracellular cAMP, [3H]thymidine incorporation, and iodide uptake in the absence of added isoproterenol than FRTL RBAR or wild-type cells. In FRTL BAR, but not RBAR cells, isoproterenol stimulated a dose-dependent accumulation of cAMP, iodide uptake, [3H]thymidine incorporation, and cell growth. FRTL BAR and RBAR cells were equally responsive to TSH and to IGF-I. Isoproterenol enhanced the ability of IGF-I to stimulate [3H]thymidine incorporation in BAR but not RBAR cells. Isoproterenol partially inhibited the ability of TSH to stimulate cAMP generation and DNA synthesis. These studies demonstrate that activation of adenylate cyclase through the BAR introduced into FRTL5 cells by retroviral infection reproduces the range of biological effects in these cells stimulated by TSH and suggest that activation of adenylate cyclase is sufficient to stimulate thyroid differentiated function and cell growth. FRTL BAR cells will provide an interesting model system with which to study the heterologous regulation of both TSH and BARs through activation of a common signal transduction pathway, adenylate cyclase.