This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pissios, P. Articles by Maratos-Flier, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pissios, P. Articles by Maratos-Flier, E.

Expanding the Scales: The Multiple Roles of MCH in Regulating Energy Balance and Other Biological Functions

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215

Correspondence: Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Eleftheria Maratos-Flier, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215. E-mail: emaratos{at}bidmc.harvard.edu

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a cyclic peptide originally identified as a 17-amino-acid circulating hormone in teleost fish, where it is secreted by the pituitary in response to stress and environmental stimuli. In fish, MCH lightens skin color by stimulating aggregation of melanosomes, pigment-containing granules in melanophores, cells of neuroectodermal origin found in fish scales. Although the peptide structure between fish and mammals is highly conserved, in mammals, MCH has no demonstrable effects on pigmentation; instead, based on a series of pharmacological and genetic experiments, MCH has emerged as a critical hypothalamic regulator of energy homeostasis, having effects on both feeding behavior and energy expenditure.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. G. Hegde, X. Li Ping, N. Jochnowitz, and D. A. Craig The Role of Melanin-Concentrating Hormone-1 Receptors in the Voiding Reflex in Rats J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., January 1, 2009; 328(1): 165 - 173. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Kokkotou, A. C. Moss, D. Torres, I. Karagiannides, A. Cheifetz, S. Liu, M. O'Brien, E. Maratos-Flier, and C. Pothoulakis Melanin-concentrating hormone as a mediator of intestinal inflammation PNAS, July 29, 2008; 105(30): 10613 - 10618. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. F. Berbari, A. D. Johnson, J. S. Lewis, C. C. Askwith, and K. Mykytyn Identification of Ciliary Localization Sequences within the Third Intracellular Loop of G Protein-coupled Receptors Mol. Biol. Cell, April 1, 2008; 19(4): 1540 - 1547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. F. Berbari, J. S. Lewis, G. A. Bishop, C. C. Askwith, and K. Mykytyn Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins are required for the localization of G protein-coupled receptors to primary cilia PNAS, March 18, 2008; 105(11): 4242 - 4246. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. E. Foster-Schubert and D. E. Cummings Emerging Therapeutic Strategies for Obesity Endocr. Rev., December 1, 2006; 27(7): 779 - 793. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]