The Effects of the Melanocortin Agonist (MT-II) on Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue in Rodents

• DOI: 10.1124/jpet.107.123091
• Publication Date: 2007-06-14T04:54:23Z
• Authors: April D. Strader; Haifei Shi; Ryuichi Ogawa; Randy J. Seeley; Ofer Reizes
• Keywords: Anorectic

The melanocortin system is a critical pathway in the regulation of energy balance. In this study, we analyzed peripheral effects synthetic agonist melanotan-II (MT-II) rodents fed low-fat or high-fat diet. MT-II-treated diet-induced obese (DIO) mice lost weight and body fat, whereas low-fat-fed maintained their original weight. Specifically, MT-II treatment led to general reduction both visceral subcutaneous adipose tissue high-fat-fed compared with Vehicle (ad libitum) controls. Vehicle-treated pair-fed DIO an equivalent amount but retained more tissue. Pair-fed showed no effect on mice. It surprising that lean mass was significantly reduced pairfed data were replicated rats indicated generalized These results indicate leads loss affects fat compartments. This finding illustrates complexity analyzing weight-reducing compounds. Although present suggest anorectic primarily consequence food intake, composition other mechanisms are involved.