MELANOCORTIN RECEPTOR ACCESSORY PROTEIN 2-INDUCED ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE RESPONSE OF HUMAN MELANOCORTIN 4 RECEPTOR

Human (h) and zebrafish (zf) melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) activation data. Our data shows how both h and zfMC4R increase the sensitivity to the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) when interacting with the melanocortin receptor two accessory protein type 2 (MRAP2). Therefore, MC4R becomes an ACTH receptor in the presence of MRAP2 thus opening new gates to the stress effects mediated by ACTH. This MRAP2-induced ACTH sensitivity of MC4R is evolutionary conserved (zebrafish-human) thus suggesting a physiological role for the MC4R/MRAP2 interaction