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Role of Melanocortin Receptors in the Regulation of Gouty Inflammation

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Abstract

Gouty arthritis is a form of acute joint inflammation provoked by joint deposition of urate crystals. Although this acute pathology resolves after a few days, the marked degree of inflammation in the joint and—possibly more important to the patient—the excruciating pain it causes require proper therapeutic management. Often deemed a “poor sibling” of chronic joint pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, the increasing incidence of gout makes it a more palatable disease for novel drug discovery programs. This fact, associated with novel insights into the molecular mechanisms activated by the urate crystal deposition, is at the basis of new therapeutics under clinical development for gout, a valid example being the effective targeting of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1. Here we briefly review the current status of antigout drug development and propose another target; our focus is on melanocortin receptor agonists as novel therapeutics for gout and inflammatory arthritides, a prototype of which, the adrenocorticotropic hormone, is already used in clinical settings.

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Disclosure

Work on MC peptides and their receptors produced in the laboratory of the authors has been funded over the years by several grants from the Arthritis Research UK (currently, project grant 18049) and by one collaborative project between the William Harvey Research Foundation and Action Pharma AS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK

    Trinidad Montero-Melendez, Hetal B. Patel & Mauro Perretti

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  1. Trinidad Montero-Melendez
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  3. Mauro Perretti
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Correspondence to Mauro Perretti.

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Montero-Melendez, T., Patel, H.B. & Perretti, M. Role of Melanocortin Receptors in the Regulation of Gouty Inflammation. Curr Rheumatol Rep 13, 138–145 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-011-0163-0

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