Abstract
Mutations that perturb leptin-melanocortin signaling are known to cause hyperphagia and obesity, but energy expenditure has not been well studied outside rodents. We report on a common canine mutation in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), which prevents production of β–melanocyte-stimulating hormone (β-MSH) and β-endorphin but not α-MSH; humans, similar to dogs, produce α-MSH and β-MSH from the POMC propeptide, but rodents produce only α-MSH.
We show that energy expenditure is markedly lower in affected dogs, which also
have increased motivational salience in response to a food cue, indicating increased wanting or hunger. There was no difference in satiety at a modified ad libitum meal or in their hedonic response to food, nor disruption of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or thyroid axes. In vitro, we show that β-MSH signals comparably to α-MSH at melanocortin receptors. These data implicate β-MSH and β-endorphin as important in determining hunger and
moderating energy expenditure and suggest that this role is independent of the presence of α-MSH.
We show that energy expenditure is markedly lower in affected dogs, which also
have increased motivational salience in response to a food cue, indicating increased wanting or hunger. There was no difference in satiety at a modified ad libitum meal or in their hedonic response to food, nor disruption of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or thyroid axes. In vitro, we show that β-MSH signals comparably to α-MSH at melanocortin receptors. These data implicate β-MSH and β-endorphin as important in determining hunger and
moderating energy expenditure and suggest that this role is independent of the presence of α-MSH.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | adj3823 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Science Advances |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 6 Mar 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 6 Mar 2024 |