Central melanocortin system

The central melanocortin system is defined anatomically as a collection of central nervous system circuits which include:

  • Neurons that express hypothalamic neuropeptide Y and agouti gene-related protein or proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and that originate in the arcuate nucleus.
  • Brainstem POMC neurons originating in the commissural nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS).
  • Downstream targets of these proopiomelanocortic and agouti related protein neurons expressing the melanocortin-3 and melanocortin-4 receptors
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