Melanocortin 4 receptor

[11][12][13][14] MC4R may also have clinical utility as a biomarker for predicting individual susceptibility to drug-induced adverse effects causing weight gain and related metabolic abnormalities.

Another GWAS performed in 2012 identified twenty SNPs located ~190 Kb downstream of MC4R in association with severe antipsychotic-induced weight gain.

The MC4 receptor agonist bremelanotide (PT-141), sold under the brand name Vyleesi, was approved in the United States as a treatment for low sexual desire in women in 2019.

[22] Melanotan II, a synthetic analog of α-MSH, is marketed to the general population for sexual enhancement by internet retailers.

[27][28] And agonists of the MC4 receptor such as melanotan II and PF-00446687, via activation of the central oxytocin system, have been found to promote pair bond formation in prairie voles and, due to these prosocial effects, have been suggested as possible treatments for social deficits in autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

[citation needed] There is limited treatment options for the most common form of monogenic obesity,  MC4R mutations symptoms can be treated with a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist liraglutide which cause weight loss by reducing appetite.

They found that the effects of liraglutide 3.0 mg daily for 16 weeks causes weight reducing and glucose lowering and may be relevant treatment in the most common form of monogenic obesity.

This discovery highlights the plasticity and multipronged regulation and control of this receptor and will aid in next-generation structure-based drug design of therapeutics for MC4R-related obesity.