Melanocortin-5 receptor and sebogenesis
2011
Zhang, Li | Li, Wen-Hwa | Anthonavage, Michael | Pappas, Apostolos | Rossetti, Dianne | Cavender, Druie | Seiberg, Miri | Eisinger, Magdalena
The melanocortins (α-MSH, β-MSH, γ-MSH, and ACTH) bind to the melanocortin receptors and signal through increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate to induce biological effects. The melanocortin MC₅ and MC₁ receptors are expressed in human sebaceous glands, which produce sebum, a lipid mixture of squalene, wax esters, triglycerides, cholesterol esters, and free fatty acids that is secreted onto the skin. Excessive sebum production is one of the major factors in the pathogenesis of acne. The expression of melanocortin MC₅ receptor has been associated with sebocyte differentiation and sebum production. Sebaceous lipids are down-regulated in melanocortin MC₅ receptor-deficient mice, consistent with the observation that α-MSH acts as a sebotropic hormone in rodents. These findings, which suggest that melanocortins stimulate sebaceous lipid production through the MC₅ receptor, led to our search for MC₅ receptor antagonists as potential sebum-suppressive agents. As predicted, an antagonist was shown to inhibit sebocyte differentiation in vitro, and to reduce sebum production in human skin transplanted onto immunodeficient mice. The melanocortin MC₅ receptor antagonists may prove to be clinically useful for the treatment of sebaceous disorders with excessive sebum production, such as acne.
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