ArticleEndocrinology2014
Gender-specific roles for the melanocortin-3 receptor in the regulation of the mesolimbic dopamine system in mice.
Article in Endocrinology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sex-differential associations of MC3R p.F45S with human metabolic profile.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Dual activation of MC3R and MC4R drives weight loss and reduces food intake in male primates with obesity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Medial hypothalamic MC3R signalling regulates energy rheostasis in adult mice.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- History and future of leptin: Discovery, regulation and signaling.Metabolism: clinical and experimental · 2024Review
- Fasting-induced activity changes in MC3R neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus.Life science alliance · 2024Article
- Subthreshold activation of the melanocortin system causes generalized sensitization to anorectic agents in mice.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Article
- 27-Hydroxycholesterol acts on estrogen receptor α expressed by POMC neurons in the arcuate nucleus to modulate feeding behavior.Science advances · 2024Article
- Neuroanatomical dissection of the MC3R circuitry regulating energy rheostasis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Experimental biology can inform our understanding of food insecurity.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- Chronic Nicotine Consumption and Withdrawal Regulate Melanocortin Receptor, CRF, and CRF Receptor mRNA Levels in the Rat Brain.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- Neuropeptides Modulate Feeding via the Dopamine Reward Pathway.Neurochemical research · 2023Review
- Targeting the central melanocortin system for the treatment of metabolic disorders.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2023Review
- Overlapping representations of food and social stimuli in VTA dopamine neurons.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- The Melanocortin System: A Promising Target for the Development of New Antidepressant Drugs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Molecular cloning and functional characterization of melanocortin-3 receptor in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).Fish physiology and biochemistry · 2023Article
- Melanocortin receptor 3 and 4 mRNA expression in the adult female Syrian hamster brain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2023Article
- Organization of neural systems expressing melanocortin-3 receptors in the mouse brain: Evidence for sexual dimorphism.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2022Article
- Actions of feeding-related peptides on the mesolimbic dopamine system in regulation of natural and drug rewards.Addiction neuroscience · 2022Article
- The ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus: watchdog of whole-body glucose homeostasis.Cell & bioscience · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) and MC4R are known to play critical roles in energy homeostasis. However, the physiological functions of the MC3R remain poorly understood. Earlier reports indicated that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is one of the highest sites of MC3R expression, and we sought to determine the function of the receptor in this brain region. A MC3R-green-fluorescent protein transgenic mouse and a MC3R knockout mouse strain were used to characterize the neurochemical identity of the MC3R neurons in the VTA and to determine the effects of global MC3R deletion on VTA dopamine (DA) homeostasis. We demonstrate that the MC3R, but not MC4R, is expressed in up to a third of dopaminergic neurons of the VTA. Global deletion of the MC3R increases total dopamine by 42% in the VTA and decreases sucrose intake and preference in female but not male mice. Ovariectomy restores dopamine levels to normal, but aberrant decreased VTA dopamine levels are also observed in prepubertal female mice. Because arcuate Agouti-related peptide/neuropeptide Y neurons are known to innervate and regulate VTA signaling, the MC3R in dopaminergic neurons provides a specific input for communication of nutritional state within the mesolimbic dopamine system. Data provided here suggest that this input may be highly sexually dimorphic, functioning as a specific circuit regulating effects of estrogen on VTA dopamine levels and on sucrose preference. Overall, this data support a sexually dimorphic function of MC3R in regulation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and reward.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.