ReviewThe Journal of endocrinology2019
The melanocortin pathway and control of appetite-progress and therapeutic implications.
Review in The Journal of endocrinology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
139 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 261 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hyperphagia in rare melanocortin-4 receptor pathway diseases: therapeutic options and assessing treatment response.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Bariatric Surgery on the Expression of Fertility-Related Genes in Obese Women: A Systematic Review ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Targeting GH and IGF-1 in the Management of Obesity: Insights from the Interplay between These Hormones and Metabolism.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Ketone Ester Supplementation on Cognition and Appetite in Individuals with and Without Metabolic syndrome: A Randomized Trial.Journal of dietary supplements · 2025Trial
- LEAP2 reduces postprandial glucose excursions andCell reports. Medicine · 2022Trial
- The Evolution of Medications for Obesity Management.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Review
- Hypothalamic Control of Liver Health and Disease: From Circuits to Pathophysiology and Therapies.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Dietary bioactive compounds modulating satiety and appetite: mechanisms of action.Journal of physiology and biochemistry · 2026Review
- Review
- Dual activation of MC3R and MC4R drives weight loss and reduces food intake in male primates with obesity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Identification of novel candidate neural genes for diet-induced obesity in outbred heterogeneous stock rats.Research square · 2026Article
- Metabolic state modulates risky foraging behavior via multiple branches of the insulin/IGF-1-like pathway in C. elegans.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Physiological interplay among obesity, male fertility, and aryl hydrocarbon receptor in human and mice: A mini review.Open veterinary journal · 2026Review
- Obesogenic effects of warm temperature involve feeding adaptation by preoptic area leptin receptor neurons.Communications biology · 2026Article
- A microglial LCN2-MC4R signaling axis drives silica-induced neuronal damage via C1q release.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- A conserved functional missense SNP (E100K) in sheep MC4R gene leading to functional loss and impacting the growth traits.Journal of animal science · 2026Article
- Mechanisms of postoperative anorexia in surgical patients: a narrative review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Genetic distribution of selected obesity-related SNVs in theFrontiers in genetics · 2026Article
- Effect of weight loss intervention on fat metabolism including adipocytokines and enzymes in children with simple obesity.PloS one · 2026Article
79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The initial discovery that ob/ob mice become obese because of a recessive mutation of the leptin gene has been crucial to discover the melanocortin pathway to control appetite. In the melanocortin pathway, the fed state is signaled by abundance of circulating hormones such as leptin and insulin, which bind to receptors expressed at the surface of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons to promote processing of POMC to the mature hormone α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH). The α-MSH released by POMC neurons then signals to decrease energy intake by binding to melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) expressed by MC4R neurons to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Conversely, in the 'starved state' activity of agouti-related neuropeptide (AgRP) and of neuropeptide Y (NPY)-expressing neurons is increased by decreased levels of circulating leptin and insulin and by the orexigenic hormone ghrelin to promote food intake. This initial understanding of the melanocortin pathway has recently been implemented by the description of the complex neuronal circuit that controls the activity of POMC, AgRP/NPY and MC4R neurons and downstream signaling by these neurons. This review summarizes the progress done on the melanocortin pathway and describes how obesity alters this pathway to disrupt energy homeostasis. We also describe progress on how leptin and insulin receptors signal in POMC neurons, how MC4R signals and how altered expression and traffic of MC4R change the acute signaling and desensitization properties of the receptor. We also describe how the discovery of the melanocortin pathway has led to the use of melanocortin agonists to treat obesity derived from genetic disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.