AUTHOR=Kobayashi Yuki , Mizusawa Kanta , Saito Yumiko , Takahashi Akiyoshi 

TITLE=Melanocortin Systems on Pigment Dispersion in Fish Chromatophores

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2012

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2012.00009

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2012.00009

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>α-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is responsible for pigment dispersion in the chromatophores of fish and other tetrapods such as amphibians and reptiles. Recently, we discovered that α-MSH did not always stimulate pigment dispersion because this hormonal peptide exerted no effects on the melanophores of flounders. We assumed that the reduction of α-MSH activity was related to the co-expression of different α-MSH receptor subtypes – termed melanocortin receptors (MCR) – a member of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) – based on several reports demonstrating that GPCR forms heterodimers with various properties that are distinct from those of the corresponding monomers. In this review, we summarize the relationships between the pigment-dispersing activity of α-MSH-related peptides, molecular forms of α-MSH-related peptides, and <italic>mcr</italic> subtypes expressed in fish chromatophores.</p>