The
melanocortin receptor system consists of five 7-transmembrane G-protein
coupled receptors (GPCR) generally referred to as MC1R, MC2R, MC3R,
MC4R and MC5R. It is a primordial
system for survival. They are involved in many critical functions
including feeding behavior, energy homeostasis, response to stress,
response to UV radiation, sexual function and behavior, pain response,
fear flight, and many others. In this regard they are
involved in many of our serious degenerative diseases including obesity,
anorexia and other feeding disorders; sexual dysfunction; skin cancer;
pain; diabetes; and many others. Yet thus far, despite many years of
effort, there are only a few medications on
the market for this class of receptors and their natural ligands, the
melanotropins. In this talk we will discuss efforts to obtain ligands
which might address some of diseases associated with this class of
receptors. We hope that our work will provide the
impetus for further studies in drug development in this area.