Molecular cloning and characterization of the chicken
proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene.
Primers (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) used for PCR were as follows: 5' GCA TCC TGA GAG AAG TCC CTC TG 3' (sense) and 5' GCC CTG GCC ATT TCC AAG AC 3' (antisense) for CRH, 5' CGG CCC CAG GAA CAG CAG CAG T 3' (sense) and 5' GGG CCC GTC GTC CTT CTC C 3' (antisense) for
proopiomelanocortin (POMC), 5' GGT CAA CCC CAC CGT GTT CTT CGA 3' (sense) and 5' TTG CCA TCC AGC CAT TCA GTC TTG 3' (antisense) for cyclophilin.
Mobbs, "Hypothalamic
proopiomelanocortin mRNA is reduced by fasting in ob/ob and db/db mice, but is stimulated by leptin," Diabetes, vol.
Robbins et al., "Identification of a receptor for [gamma] melanotropin and other
proopiomelanocortin peptides in the hypothalamus and limbic system," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol.
* Rhythmicity in the activity of certain brain cells (i.e.,
proopiomelanocortin [POMC] (4)-producing neurons) in a brain region called the hypothalamus (which is involved in the body's stress system) in rats (Chen et al.
HMS is composed of two different populations of neurons, one set that expresses neuropeptides Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) and a second set that expresses
proopiomelanocortin (POMC), a precursor containing a-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (Richards et al., 2010).
Several melanocyte-stimulating hormones are normally produced along with ACTH via cleavage of the common precursor protein,
proopiomelanocortin. Importantly, hyperpigmentation is absent in some patients with ectopic ACTH production, either because ACTH is produced independently of the melanocyte-stimulating hormones or because the ACTH-producing tumor is so aggressive that hyperpigmentation does not have time to develop.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol increases
proopiomelanocortin gene expression in the arcuate nucleus of the rat hypothalamus.
In contrast, NPY (neuropeptide Y), POMC (
proopiomelanocortin), and Cart (cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript) gene expression were not affected.
For example, the expression of receptors for the
proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived neuropeptides melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) are known to modify the phenotype of normal and malignant melanocytes.