ArticleCirculation research2025
Melanocortin System Activates Carotid Body Arterial Chemoreceptors in Hypertension.
Article in Circulation research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Rationale of renewed efforts in developing MC4R modulators to treat metabolic disorders.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Review
- Cardiometabolic regulation by adipocyte-derived leptin and the brain melanocortin system.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2026Review
- Glomus cell heterogeneity underpins distinct carotid body chemoreflex pathways: implications for hypertension.Cardiovascular research · 2026Article
- Carotid body measurement by computed tomography angiography: a cross-sectional population-based study.BMC medical imaging · 2026Article
- Age-dependent remodelling of arterial chemoafferent innervation in hypertension.Cardiovascular research · 2025Article
- Hypertensive remodelling: when bigger body means bigger problems.Cardiovascular research · 2025Article
- Melanocortin Signaling in the Carotid Body as a Putative Cause of Hypertension.Circulation research · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe internal milieu of the body is controlled by a system of interoceptors coupled to motor outflows that drive compensatory adaptive responses. These include the arterial chemoreceptors, best known for sensing arterial oxygen. In cardiometabolic diseases, such as essential hypertension, the carotid bodies (CB) exhibit heightened reflex sensitivity and tonic activity without an apparent stimulus. The mechanisms behind CB sensitization in these conditions are not well understood.
methodsGuided by functional genomics, a range of functional assays is used to interrogate downstream intracellular and interorgan signaling pathways involved in arterial chemosensory function.
resultsHere, we report the presence of the MC4R (melanocortin 4 receptor) in the mammalian CB and show its elevated expression in experimental hypertension. We demonstrate that melanocortin agonists activate arterial chemosensory cells, modulating CB chemosensory afferent drive to influence chemoreflex-evoked sympathetic and ventilatory activity. Transcriptional analysis of hypertensive CB implicates the activation of the Mash1 (mammalian achaete-scute homolog 1;
conclusionsCollectively, our data indicate a primarily pathophysiological role of melanocortin signaling in arterial chemosensation, contributing to excess sympathetic activity in cardiometabolic disease.
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