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Participation of the central melanocortin system in metabolic regulation and energy homeostasis

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Abstract

Obesity and metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, have attracted considerable attention as life-threatening diseases not only in developed countries but also worldwide. Additionally, the rate of obesity in young people all over the world is rapidly increasing. Accumulated evidence suggests that the central nervous system may participate in the development of and/or protection from obesity. For example, in the brain, the hypothalamic melanocortin system senses and integrates central and peripheral metabolic signals and controls the degree of energy expenditure and feeding behavior, in concert with metabolic status, to regulate whole-body energy homeostasis. Currently, researchers are studying the mechanisms by which peripheral metabolic molecules control feeding behavior and energy balance through the central melanocortin system. Accordingly, recent studies have revealed that some inflammatory molecules and transcription factors participate in feeding behavior and energy balance by controlling the central melanocortin pathway, and have thus become new candidates as therapeutic targets to fight metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Research Fund of University of Ulsan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77004, USA

    Jin Kwon Jeong

  2. Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism, Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Jae Geun Kim

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, 680-749, South Korea

    Byung Ju Lee

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  1. Jin Kwon Jeong
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Correspondence to Byung Ju Lee.

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Jin Kwon Jeong and Jae Geun Kim have contributed equally to preparation of the manuscript.

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Jeong, J.K., Kim, J.G. & Lee, B.J. Participation of the central melanocortin system in metabolic regulation and energy homeostasis. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 71, 3799–3809 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-014-1650-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-014-1650-z

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