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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) plays a central role in the regulation of energy homeostasis. Its high sequence similarity to other MC receptor family members, low agonist selectivity and the lack of structural information concerning MC4R-specific activation have hampered the development of MC4R-seletive therapeutics to treat obesity. Here, we report four high-resolution structures of full-length MC4R in complex with the heterotrimeric G(s) protein stimulated by the endogenous peptide ligand alpha-MSH, FDA-approved drugs afamelanotide (Scenesse) and bremelanotide (Vyleesi), and a selective small-molecule ligand THIQ, respectively. Together with pharmacological studies, our results reveal the conserved binding mode of peptidic agonists, the distinctive molecular details of small-molecule agonist recognition underlying receptor subtype selectivity, and a distinct activation mechanism for MC4R, thereby offering new insights into G protein coupling. Our work may facilitate the discovery of selective therapeutic agents targeting MC4R.

Structural insights into ligand recognition and activation of the melanocortin-4 receptor.,Zhang H, Chen LN, Yang D, Mao C, Shen Q, Feng W, Shen DD, Dai A, Xie S, Zhou Y, Qin J, Sun JP, Scharf DH, Hou T, Zhou T, Wang MW, Zhang Y Cell Res. 2021 Nov;31(11):1163-1175. doi: 10.1038/s41422-021-00552-3. Epub 2021 , Aug 25. PMID:34433901^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.