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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 1, 2000, 20(9):3442-3448
A Novel Selective Melanocortin-4 Receptor Agonist Reduces Food
Intake in Rats and Mice without Producing Aversive Consequences
Stephen C.
Benoit1,
Michael W.
Schwartz2,
Jennifer L.
Lachey1,
Mary
M.
Hagan1,
Paul A.
Rushing1,
Kathleen A.
Blake1,
Keith A.
Yagaloff3,
Grazyna
Kurylko3,
Lucia
Franco3,
Waleed
Danhoo3, and
Randy J.
Seeley1
1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, 2 University of Washington,
Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System,
Seattle, Washington 98108-1597, and 3 Department of
Metabolic Diseases, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, New Jersey 07110
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ABSTRACT |
Studies using nonselective agonists and antagonists of
melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) and MC4R point to the importance of the
CNS melanocortin system in the control of food intake. We describe here
a novel compound that is highly selective as an agonist at the MC4
receptor but has minimal activity at the MC3 receptor. When
administered centrally to rats, this selective agonist increased
Fos-like immunoreactivity in the paraventricular nucleus,
central nucleus of the amygdala, nucleus of the solitary tract, and
area postrema, a pattern of neuronal activation that is similar to that
induced by a nonselective MC3/4R agonist. Additionally, it suppresses
food intake when administered centrally to rats or peripherally to
db/db mice that lack functional leptin receptors via a
mechanism that is not accompanied by illness or other nonspecific effects. Conversely, a related compound that is a selective MC4R antagonist potently increased food intake when administered centrally in rats. These results support the hypothesis that the brain MC4R is
intimately involved in the control of food intake and body weight and
provide evidence that selective activation of MC4R causes anorexia that
is not secondary to aversive effects.
Key words:
melanocortins; MC4-R; hypothalamus; food intake; taste
aversion; c-Fos
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INTRODUCTION |
Recent evidence points to the
hypothalamic melanocortin (MC) peptide system as critical in the
control of energy balance. Neurons that express mRNA for the MC
precursor molecule, proopiomelanocortin (POMC), are found in the
arcuate nucleus (ARC) and project to other hypothalamic sites. Evidence
suggests that these POMC neurons express leptin receptors and that
central MC signaling contributes to the effects of the adipocyte
hormone leptin (Cheung et al., 1997 ; Mountjoy and Wong, 1997 ; Seeley et
al., 1997 ). Within the brain, two receptor subtypes for
melanocortins are expressed, MC3R and MC4R (Mountjoy et al., 1994 ).
Several nonselective ligands of these receptors have been identified
and assessed for their effect on food intake (Fan et al., 1997 ; Grill
et al., 1998 ). -Melanocyte-stimulating hormone ( -MSH),
synthesized within ARC POMC neurons, is an agonist of MC3R and MC4R
(Adan et al., 1994 ) that, after exogenous central administration,
robustly decreases food intake in rats (Tsujii and Bray, 1989 ). MTII is
a synthetic analog of -MSH that also has agonistic properties at
both MC3R and MC4R and decreases food intake and body weight of mice
and rats (Fan et al., 1997 ; Thiele et al., 1998 ).
Interestingly, MC receptors are one of the few signaling systems for
which endogenous antagonists, as well as agonists, have been
identified. Agouti is a protein that is normally expressed in the skin
and is an antagonist of the cutaneous MC receptor involved in
pigmentation, MC1R (Ollmann et al., 1997 , 1998 ). Ectopic overexpression
of the agouti protein in AY mice therefore
results in both yellow coat color because of antagonism of MC1R
and increased food intake and body weight because of abnormal antagonism of MC4R (Lu et al., 1994 ). Agouti-related protein (AgRP) is
homologous to agouti, which is synthesized exclusively in a population
of ARC neurons that are distinct from those expressing POMC. AgRP
antagonizes both MC3R and MC4R but not MC1R (Fong et al., 1997 ).
Consequently, genetic overexpression of AgRP or exogenous administration of an AgRP fragment increases food intake and causes obesity but does not alter pigmentation (Ollmann et al., 1997 ; Rossi et
al., 1998 ). Furthermore, central administration of a nonselective
MC3/4R antagonist (SHU-9119) increases food intake in normal rats and
mice (Fan et al., 1997 ; Hagan et al., 1999 ). Collectively, these data
suggest that central MC3/4 receptors participate in energy homeostasis.
An important unanswered question is whether the two centrally expressed
MC receptors have different roles in the control of energy balance. We
report here the use of two new compounds that have specific affinity
for the MC1R and MC4R. Because MC1R has only been found in
periaquiductal gray matter of humans (Xia et al., 1995 ), we
expect central administration of these compounds results in selective
activation at MC4R. We therefore measured the effects of these
compounds on food intake in rats and db/db mice, which
develop obesity because of autosomal recessive mutation of the
long-form leptin receptor. In addition, we report results of behavioral
tests for aversive consequences of the selective MC4R agonist.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Subjects and materials. All animal procedures were
approved by the institutional animal care and use committee of the
University of Cincinnati. Male Long-Evans rats were individually
housed in stainless steel cages and maintained on a 12 hr
light/dark cycle. Laboratory chow (Purina 5001) and water were provided
ad libitum (except where noted) during the experiments.
Seven days after arrival in the laboratory, rats were anesthetized with
3.3 ml/kg equithesin and implanted with a 21-gauge stainless steel
cannula (Plastics One, Roanoke, VA) aimed at the third ventricle (i3vt) 2.2 mm posterior to bregma and 7.4 mm ventral to dura (for review, see
Seeley et al., 1996 ). Placement and patency of cannulas were confirmed
by administration of 10 ng of angiotensin II in saline while the
animals were water replete. Animals that did not drink at least 5 ml of
water within 60 min were considered to have failed cannula placement
and were not used in the experiments. Rats that received taste aversion
training were also implanted unilaterally with intraoral cannulas
constructed of polyethelene-100 tubing, which allows liquid
stimuli to be infused directly into the oral cavity. These were placed
anterolateral to the first maxillary molar and were threaded
subcutaneously to exit the top of the head (for review, see Thiele et
al., 1998 ).
Obese C57/B6 db/db (n = 10) mice were
purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). The mice
were individually housed in plastic tubs and maintained on a 12 hr
light/dark cycle. They were fed and watered ad libitum,
except where noted. Each mouse received one intraperitoneal
injection of saline (0.9%, 200 µl) and one injection of Ro27-3225
(200 µg, 200 µl).
For all experiments with rats, i3vt infusions were administered in
volumes of 2 µl. Intraperitoneal injections were all isotonic and
delivered in NaCl vehicle volumes of 20 ml/kg (rat) or 200 µl
(mouse). In all experiments on food intake, subjects received manipulations immediately before onset of the dark phase.
Experiment 1: MCR-based assays. All assays were performed in
duplicate. Binding assays were performed using membranes prepared from
HEK293 cells stably transfected with human MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, and
MC5R. Binding of [125I]
[Nle4, D-Phe7]7-MSH
(NDP-MSH) (labeled via chloramines T method, 2000 Ci/nmol specific activity) (catalog #IM316; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Arlington Heights, IL) to the membrane homogenates was done as follows:
20 mg of wheat germ agglutinin scintillation proximity assay
(SPA) beads (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) was resuspended with 10 ml of 50 mM HEPES, 10 mM
MgCl2, and 0.1% BSA, pH 7.4. Concentrated membrane homogenate was
added to give a final concentration of 0.04 mg/ml (MC1R, MC3R, and
MC5R) and 0.032 mg/ml (MC4R). The mixture of SPA beads plus homogenate
was incubated for 1 hr at 4°C with constant and vigorous mixing.
Assays were initiated by distributing 50 µl of SPA membrane into 96 well plates (Optiplate polystyrene microplate; Packard, Meridian, CT),
and 2 µl of compounds at various concentrations or DMSO was added.
Nonspecific binding was determined by adding an excess of unlabeled
NDP-MSH (2 µM). The final concentration of
labeled NDP-MSH in the assay was 0.2 (MC1R), 1.0 (MC3R), 0.1 (MC4R),
and 0.4 (MC5R) nM. Plates were shaken overnight
at room temperature on mini-orbital shaker (20-24 hr). Radioactivity
was counted in a scintillation counter for 2 min (Topcount; Packard).
HEK293 transfected with the MC1R, MC3R, MC4R, or MC5R were grown in
DMEM containing 10% FBS and 500 µg/ml G418 sulfate in 96 well
flat-bottom tissue culture-treated plates. Cells were stimulated at
confluence (days 2-4) with either 100 nM NDP- MSH or
compound. In the agonist assay, compounds Ro27-4680 [molecular weight
(MW) of 949.01] and Ro27-3225 (MW of 898.80) (Fig.
1) were serially diluted in 100%
DMSO and were further diluted 1:200 (2.5 µl of compound
dilution plus 500 µl of media) in DMEM containing 10%FBS and
0.1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. Data were
collected for 10 different concentrations of both compounds ranging
from 50 to 0.02 nM. For NDP- MSH-stimulated cells, 2.5 µl of 20 µM NDP- MSH in 100% DMSO was added to 500 µl of media (final concentration 100 nM). For
unstimulated cells, 2.5 µl of DMSO was added to 500 µl of media. To
determine antagonist effect of Ro27-4680 on MC3R and MC4R, cells were
incubated in the presence of a fixed concentration of NDP- MSH (20 nM MC3R and MC4R) or Ro27-3225 (250 nM MC4R or 2000 nM MC3R).

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Figure 1.
Two-dimensional structure of the selective MC4R
agonist (Ro27-3225) and the selective antagonist (Ro27-4680).
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Culture medium was removed from confluent 96 well culture plates and
replaced with 200 µl of above dilutions into the appropriate wells.
The plates were incubated for 1 hr at room temperature. At the end of
incubation, plates were washed one time with 200 µl/well PBS. cAMP
was extracted by the addition of 60 µl of 70% ethanol (room
temperature). After a 30 min extraction period, plates were stored at
20°C until the cAMP assay was performed.
Forty (MC1R and MC4R) or 20 (MC3R and MC5R) µl of assay buffer, 10 (MC1R and MC4R) or 30 (MC3R and MC5R) µl of ethanol extract, 50 µl
of [125I]cAMP, 50 µl of antiserum, and
50 µl of SPA beads were added to a 96 well plate. The total well
volume after addition was 200 µl. The plates were sealed and
incubated for 15-20 hr at room temperature.
[125I]cAMP binding to the SPA beads was
determined by counting for 2 min. Each plate contained controls for
unstimulated cells and NDP- MSH for stimulated cells.
Experiment 2: food intake in rats. After recovery from i3vt
cannulation, food intake was measured for at least 3 d to
establish baseline. On test days, rats were weighed and food hoppers
were removed from cages 2 hr before the beginning of the dark phase. Rats (n = 8 per group) then received i3vt infusion of
0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, or 10.0 nmol of either the MC4R
antagonist (Ro27-4680) or MC4R agonist (Ro27-3225) in saline
immediately before the onset of the dark phase. Infusions were
delivered in a volume of 2 µl over 60 sec. Food intake was recorded
at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hr after infusion.
Experiment 3: food intake in db/db mice. On the
day before the first injections, mice in each group (wild type,
n = 10; db/db, n = 10) were
divided into two subgroups matched for body weight and daily food
intake. On test days, food hoppers were removed from the home cages 2 hr before the beginning of the dark phase. At the time of lights out,
the mice received intraperitoneal injections of either saline or 200 µg of Ro27-3225, and food was returned. Food intake was measured
after 1 and 4 hr. Two days after the first injection, the mice received
the alternate injections, and the same protocol was followed.
Experiment 4: conditioned taste aversion. Rats
(n = 32) were first habituated to a Plexiglas
observation chamber and intraoral infusion of fluid for 20 min/d over
4 d. During the last two habituation sessions, rats were
intraorally infused with 5 ml of distilled water (0.5 ml/min) during
the first 10 min in the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) chamber. On
the day after habituation, one-half of the rats received either i3vt
CSF or intraperitoneal NaCl (paired group); the remaining rats
were given i3vt Ro27-3225 or intraperitoneal LiCl (unpaired group).
All rats were then immediately returned to the home cage. On the
conditioning day, rats were placed in the observation chambers and
infused intraorally with 1.0% saccharin (2.5 ml over 5 min).
Immediately after the infusions, rats in the paired group received
either i3vt infusion of 5 nmol of Ro-273225 or intraperitoneal LiCl;
rats in the unpaired group received either i3vt CSF or intraperitoneal
NaCl. On the test day, rats were returned to the observation chambers
and again intraorally infused with the 1.0% saccharine solution (2.5 ml over 5 min). The amount of time that passed before rats rejected
(passive or active expulsion) the fluid was recorded. We have
previously used this paradigm to assess the aversive consequences of
i3vt infusion of MTII (Thiele et al., 1998 ).
Experiment 5: NaCl intake. Rats (n = 32)
were first habituated to 0.5 M NaCl bottles for
7 d and then sodium deprived for 1 d. On the sodium
deprivation day, rats were injected subcutaneously with furosemide (2 ml/kg), and clean food hoppers containing sodium-free rat chow were
placed in the home cages. Twenty-four hours later, rats received one
i3vt infusion (Ro27-3225 or CSF), followed 15 min later by a single
intraperitoneal injection (LiCl or NaCl). There were four
combinations of these treatments (n = 8 per group). The
first group received CSF followed by saline. The second group received
3 nmol of Ro27-3225 followed by saline. The third group received 5 nmol of Ro27-3225 followed by saline. The final group of rats received
CSF followed by intraperitoneal LiCl. Intake of the 0.5 M NaCl solution was measured after 2 hr.
Experiment 6: kaolin intake. Rats (n = 32)
were first habituated to kaolin clay pellets in the home cage (200 gm
in a second food hopper). On the test day, rats received one i3vt
infusion of CSF or Ro27-3225, followed by a single intraperitoneal
injection of saline or LiCl. Paper was placed beneath the home cages to collect spillage. Kaolin clay intake was then measured 2 hr after infusion. Drug groups (n = 8 per group) and order of
injections were identical to those of experiment 4.
Experiment 7: 5 nmol of Ro27-3225. After completion of the
aversiveness assays, the time course of 5.0 nmol of Ro27-3225 to reduce food intake was again assessed, in a within-subjects comparison. On test days, rats were weighed and food hoppers were removed from
cages 2 hr before the beginning of the dark phase. Ten rats then
received i3vt infusion of 0.0 or 5.0 nmol of the MC4 agonist (Ro27-3225) immediately before the onset of the dark phase. On the
second test day, rats received the alternate infusion (i.e., 0.0 nmol,
followed by 5.0 and 5.0 nmol, followed by 0.0 nmol). Food intake was
recorded at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hr after infusion on both test days.
Experiment 8: c-Fos immunohistochemistry. Twelve rats, used
previously for an experiment that required i3vt cannulas, were infused
with artificial CSF (a-CSF), 1.0 nmol of MTII, or 5.0 nmol of
Ro27-3225 (n = 4 per treatment). Two hours after the
infusions, rats were intracardially perfused with 0.9% PBS, followed
by 4.0% paraformaldehye in 0.1 M phosphate
buffer. Brains were removed and post-fixed ~4 hr. They were then
stored in 30% sucrose PBS for ~3 weeks. Brains were then snap frozen
and sectioned at 50 µm. Forebrain slices were cut in the
coronal plane to allow visualization of the paraventricular nucleus of
the hypothalamus (PVN) and central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA).
Sections through the hindbrain were made in the horizontal plane to
facilitate visualization of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS).
Sections were rinsed (three times, PBS), incubated for 20 min in 0.3%
H202 to quench endogenous
peroxidase, rinsed (three times, PBS), and incubated 1 hr in 0.1%
normal donkey serum in PBS and 0.2% Triton X-100. Sections were then
transferred to the primary antibody solution consisting of 0.005 gm/ml
polyclonal rabbit antiserum (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA)
which recognizes residues 3-16 of the c-Fos protein. After ~24 hr
incubation, slices were rinsed (four times, PBS) and processed with the
ABC method (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Slices were
transferred to biotinylated donkey anti-rabbit antibody for 1 hr,
rinsed (four times, PBS) and then transferred to avidin-biotinylated
peroxidase for 1 hr, rinsed (four times, PBS), and developed with
diaminobenzidine substrate (10 min). Slices were then rinsed (four
times, PBS), mounted on slides, and coverslipped with
Permount. c-Fos like immunoreactivity (c-FLI) was detected with a video
camera installed on the microscope using OptiQuant image processing
software. Sections examined for c-FLI included the PVN, area
postrema (AP), NTS, and CeA.
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RESULTS |
For designs incorporating single-factor between-subjects designs
(e.g., experiment 2), data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA across drug
treatment (e.g., saline-CSF, Ro27-3225, and LiCl). For designs using
single-factor within-subjects designs, one-way repeated measures ANOVA
was conducted across drugs. For experiment 4, a two-way ANOVA was
conducted using drug and learning treatment as factors. Post
hoc analyses used either LSD or Tukey's HSD test with
significance set at p < 0.05.
Experiment 1: MCR-based assays
Table 1 shows affinity and agonist
activity of the selective agonist (Ro27-3225) and the selective
antagonist (Ro27-4680). Both compounds showed significantly lower
IC50 values for cells transfected with the MC4R
over the MC3R. Ro27-3225 also showed a lower
EC50 in cells transfected with the MC4R compared
with MC3R, whereas Ro27-4680 showed no induced agonist activity in cells transfected with either the MC3R or MC4R. Hence, as measured by
either binding or activation of cAMP, Ro27-3225 shows ~30-fold selectivity for MC4R over MC3R.
The binding and cAMP assays did, indeed, yield different estimations of
the selectivity of 3225. It should be noted that the MC4R may contain
multiple binding sites. These multiple binding sites may or may not
exert independent changes in resulting cAMP. If this were the case, one
might expect to observe higher estimations of binding than of cAMP activation.
Experiment 2: food intake in rats
Ro27-4680 produced an increase of short-term food intake at the
beginning of the dark cycle, with the maximal response detected at
doses of 5 nmol (Fig. 2, top
panel). Results of ANOVA and post hoc tests
support these conclusions. Food intake was increased twofold
(p < 0.05) relative to saline at the 5 nmol
dose. In contrast, Ro27-3225 dose-dependently decreased food intake
over the first 4 hr of the dark cycle (Fig. 2, bottom
panel). ANOVA and post hoc tests showed
decreases in food intake of 29.7, 33.4, and 67.8% after 3, 5, and 10 nmol doses of Ro27-3225, respectively (p < 0.05). In addition, 10 nmol of Ro27-3225 reliably suppressed food intake relative to both 3 and 5 nmol of Ro27-3225
(p < 0.05). (Both the agonist and the
antagonist elicited barrel rolling in some of the rats at doses of 10 nmol or higher. These doses were not included in subsequent
experiments.) Additionally, cumulative food intake after 24 hr was not
different between groups.

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Figure 2.
Rat food intake. Mean + SEM 4 hr food intake
(grams) after i3vt administration of the selective MC4R antagonist
Ro27-4680 (A) and the agonist Ro27-3225
(B). *p < 0.05.
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Experiment 3: food intake in db/db mice
To investigate the hypothesis that CNS melanocortin signaling is
downstream of the actions of leptin to reduce food intake and
body weight, we administered Ro27-3225 to db/db mice that lack functional long-form leptin receptors. As depicted in Figure 3, Ro27-3225 reliably reduced food
intake relative to intraperitoneal saline equivalently in both
wild-type and db/db mice (50.5 and 38.5%, respectively)
over a 4 hr period when administered at the beginning of the dark cycle
(both p < 0.05). As in experiment 2, there were no
differences in 24 hr cumulative food intake between Ro27-3225 and
saline injections.

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Figure 3.
Mouse food intake. Mean + SEM food intake (grams)
after intraperitoneal administration of 200 µg of Ro27-3225 or
saline in wild-type and obese db/db mice.
*p < 0.05.
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Experiment 4: CTA
Figure 4A depicts
latency to reject intraorally infused saccharine during the test for
CTA. As depicted in that figure, when LiCl is paired with consumption
of a saccharin solution, rats rapidly (61 sec) reject the saccharin
solution upon its next presentation. However, rats for which
consumption of the saccharin solution was paired with the MC4R agonist
consumed the saccharin solution for 5 min on its next presentation,
indicating they had not associated the flavor with an aversive
consequence of the drug. ANOVA and post hoc tests support
the statistical validity of these conclusions. Rats that received
saccharin paired with LiCl showed shorter rejection latencies than all
other groups (p < 0.01).

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Figure 4.
Aversive tests. A, Mean + SEM
latency (seconds) to reject saccharine during 5 min test for
conditioned taste aversion. B, Mean + SEM intake
(milliliters) of 0.5 mol of NaCl after infusion-injection of
CSF-saline, 3 nmol of Ro27-3225-saline, CSF-LiCl, or 5 nmol of
Ro27-3225-saline. C, Mean + SEM kaolin clay intake
(grams) after infusion-injection of CSF-saline, 3 nmol of
Ro27-3225-saline, CSF-LiCl, or 5 nmol of Ro27-3225-saline.
D, Experiment 5. Within-subject food intake test
(n = 8). Mean ± SEM (grams) of chow consumed
after i3vt infusion of either 2 µl of 5 nmol of Ro27-3225 or 2 µl
of CSF. *p < 0.05.
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Experiment 5: NaCl intake
Rats avidly ingest NaCl solutions after they have been made
Na+-deficient. This sodium appetite is
sensitive to the effects of emetic agents such as LiCl (Stricker and
Verbalis, 1990 ). Figure 4B documents that LiCl
significantly suppressed intake of a hypertonic NaCl solution in
Na+-deficient rats. LiCl reduced NaCl
intake by 56.3% compared with saline. Conversely, at doses that
reliably suppress caloric intake, the MC4R agonist caused no reduction
of NaCl intake in these rats. ANOVA and post hoc tests
support the statistical validity of these conclusions. Rats that
received injection of LiCl showed reduced NaCl intake relative to all
other groups (p < 0.01). No statistical differences were found between rats that received Ro27-3225-saline and rats that received CSF-saline. Therefore, whereas the aversive agent LiCl decreases multiple types of ingestion, the MC4R agonist has
a selective effect to reduce food intake while not disturbing NaCl intake.
Experiment 6: kaolin intake
Under conditions associated with nausea and vomiting in other
species, rats have an increased propensity to ingest clay (geophagia) (Mitchell et al., 1976 ). This active behavior on the part of the rat
can be measured using a mixture of kaolin and acacia gum that can be
hardened into clay pellets. Under normal circumstances (including food
deprivation), rats will not consume the kaolin. Figure 4C
shows data from the 2 hr kaolin intake test. As depicted in that
figure, LiCl but not Ro27-3225 administration significantly increased
the consumption of kaolin by 108% relative to saline. ANOVA and
post hoc tests confirm the statistical validity of this assessment. Rats that received LiCl consumed reliably less kaolin than
rats receiving saline or 3225 (p < 0.05).
Experiment 7: 5 nmol of Ro27-3225 food intake
Figure 4D shows the time course of the changes
of food intake in grams of rats receiving either 5 nmol Ro27-3225 or
a-CSF. As in previous experiments, relative to saline, 5 nmol of
Ro27-3225 reliably suppressed food intake at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hr intake
by 66.7, 70.3, 53.1, and 45.9%, respectively
(p < 0.05). As in experiment 2, the
effectiveness of the MC4R agonist was relatively short-lived. There was
no reduction of cumulative food intake after 24 hr.
Experiment 8: c-Fos expression
Both Ro27-3225 and MTII increased c-FLI in the PVN (384 and
376%, respectively) and CeA (352 and 431%, respectively), although only Ro27-3225 produced reliable increases in hindbrain structures. However, patterns of c-FLI were not different between MTII and Ro-273225. Figure 5 shows c-FLI in PVN,
CeA, NTS, and AP after a-CSF, 5 nmol of Ro27-3225, and 1 nmol of MTII.
In all areas, 5 nmol of Ro27- 3225 led to a reliable increase c-FLI
relative to a-CSF. After 1 nmol of MTII, on the other hand, c-FLI was
significantly increased in PVN (384%) and CeA (352%). The c-FLI
increases in NTS (425%) and AP (347%) were marginally significant
(p < 0.1) after administration of MTII. Figure
6 shows photomicrographs of
representative brain sections after c-Fos immunocytochemistry. A, B, and C show sections from
representative subjects receiving a-CSF, 1 nmol of MTII, and 5 nmol of
Ro-273225, respectively.

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Figure 5.
c-Fos immunoreactivity. Mean + SEM c-Fos-positive
neurons in the PVN, CeA, AP, and NTS. *p < 0.05.
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Figure 6.
c-Fos immunoreactivity. Photomicrographs showing
representative coronal PVN sections from control
(A), Ro27-3225 (B), and
MTII (C) rats.
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DISCUSSION |
The selective MC4R agonist Ro27-3225 reduced 4 hr food
intake dose-dependently in both rats and obese db/db mice.
Furthermore, the selective MC4R antagonist Ro27-4680 dose-dependently
increased food intake in rats. These findings suggest that effects on
the MC4R are sufficient to explain the feeding responses induced
by the nonselective MC ligands (e.g., MTII and SHU-9119).
Suppression of food intake can occur for many reasons, including
stress, motor impairment, and visceral illness (malaise). To
investigate whether these novel MC4R ligands reduced food intake
through other, nonspecific mechanisms, including gastric distress or
illness, we used a series of behavioral measures that are sensitive to
aversive consequences. The prototypical aversive agent used in such
studies is LiCl. When toxic doses are administered to emetic species
(such as dogs and primates), LiCl reduces food intake and elicits
vomiting, whereas humans verbally report feelings of visceral illness.
In rats, a nonemetic species, LiCl reduces food intake and it also alters other behaviors that can be effectively measured.
The most commonly applied measure for the aversive effects of LiCl and
other treatments is CTA learning. In this paradigm, rats are presented
with a novel, preferred flavor such as saccharin, followed by
administration of an aversive stimulus (e.g., LiCl). Subsequently, rats
are presented the same flavor in the absence of the aversive stimulus,
and the extent to which the flavor is rejected provides a quantitative
measure of its aversive consequences. Recent work has demonstrated that
ventricular administration of some anorectic peptides [e.g.,
glucagon-like peptide (GLP) 1 (7-36) amide or GLP-1] cause
robust CTAs, whereas administration of others (e.g., leptin) does not
(Thiele et al., 1997 ).
In the second series of experiments, the MC4R agonist was compared with
LiCl on behavioral measures designed to assess the presence of aversive
qualities. Three separate experiments collectively indicated that,
although the MC4R agonist potently suppresses food intake, it does so
without any evidence of aversive effects measured by either CTA
formation or by geophagia, whereas these effects were readily
demonstrated after the administration of LiCl. These negative results
are important because we found previously that the nonselective MC3/4R
agonist MTII causes the formation of conditioned taste aversion (Thiele
et al., 1998 ). The present results are therefore consistent with the
hypothesis that MTII produces CTAs via its actions at MC3R rather than
at MC4R.
Interestingly, the increase in c-FLI in several feeding relevant areas
of the CNS caused by Ro27-3225 was compared with a dose of MTII that
produced similar reductions of food intake at 2 hr. At these doses,
Ro27-3225 and MTII produced similar numbers of c-FLI-positive cells in
the PVN, CeA, NTS, and AP. Whereas the actions of the NTS and AP were
nonsignificantly larger in the MTII-treated rats, the pattern of c-Fos
induction is strikingly similar between the two treatments. Such data
are consistent with the hypothesis that the effects of MTII to increase
c-FLI in these areas is mediated primarily by the MC4 receptor. These
data are interesting given the fact that MTII, but not Ro27-3225,
supports the development of conditioned taste aversions. The aversive
consequences associated with nonselective MC ligands may therefore be
mediated through MC3R, whereas food intake effects mediated via MC4R.
Furthermore, the similarities of c-FLI after infusion of MTII and
Ro27-3225 suggest that the present c-Fos expression after MTII is
primarily attributable to activation of the MC4 receptor and is not
involved in aversive responses induced by MTII. Finally, the present
data suggest that, unlike our previous suggestions (Thiele et al., 1997 ), c-Fos activation may not provide a reliable indication of
aversive consequences.
Finally, it should be noted that c-fos expression results
from neuronal activation. Thus, interpretations based on elevated levels of c-FLI are limited to effects in activate, rather than inhibit, neuronal responses.
The present data also are consistent with other findings, indicating
relative importance of MC4R over MC3R in the control of food intake and
body weight. First, selective genetic disruption of MC4R results in
increased food intake and body weight (Huszar et al., 1997 ), and the
mice are insensitive to the effects of MTII to reduce food intake
(Marsh et al., 1999 ). The ability of MTII to reduce food intake,
therefore, requires MC4R. Similarly, coadministration of MTII with a
relatively selective MC4R antagonist (HS014) results in greatly
decreased effectiveness of MTII to reduce food intake (Kask et al.,
1998 ).
Although some controversy remains (Boston et al., 1997 ; Marsh et al.,
1999 ), several lines of evidence indicate that the melanocortin system
is an important target for the actions of leptin in the CNS in the
regulation of food intake and body weight (Halaas et al., 1997 ; Seeley
et al., 1997 ; Thornton et al., 1997 ; Mizuno et al., 1998 ; Satoh et al.,
1998 ; Wilson et al., 1999 ) and that the central melanocortins are part
of an endogenous system used to reduce food intake and body weight
after periods of sustained positive energy balance (Hagan et al.,
1999 ). The present results are the first to describe the effects of a
selective MC4R agonist. This agonist, Ro27-3225, suppresses food
intake in both rats and mice with no indication that the reduction is
secondary to nonspecific or aversive consequences of the compound.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received Oct. 25, 1999; revised Feb. 3, 2000; accepted Feb. 17, 2000.
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants
DK54890, DK54080, DK17844, and NS32273.
Correspondence should be addressed to Stephen C. Benoit, Department of
Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Box 670559, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0559. E-mail: benoits{at}emailuc.edu.
 |
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