Abstract
Melanocortin agonists are ancient neuropeptides that have steroidogenesis and anti-inflammatory properties. They activate melanocortin receptors (MCR), a family of five seven-transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors. MC1R and MC3R are mainly involved in immunomodulatory effects. Adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and alpha-Melanocortin stimulating hormone (α-MSH) reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines in several pulmonary inflammatory disorders including asthma, sarcoidosis, and the acute respiratory distress syndrome. They have also been shown to reduce fibrogenesis in animal models with pulmonary fibrosis. By understanding the functions of MCR in macrophages, T-helper cell type 1, and T-helper cell type 17, we may uncover the mechanism of action of melanocortin agonists in sarcoidosis. Further translational and clinical research is needed to define the role of ACTH and α-MSH in pulmonary diseases.
Highlights
Melanocortin systems are well-known for their regulation of skin pigmentation and steroidogenesis
All melanocortins are derived from the pro-opiomelanocortin prohormone (POMC), which is post-translationally modified by pro-convertase 1 or 2 to generate each peptide as shown in Figure 1 [3]
adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) is maybe best known for its actions on steroidogenesis in the adrenal cortex
Summary
Anna Elizabeth Moscowitz 1, Huda Asif 2, Laurence Baily Lindenmaier 1, Andrew Calzadilla 2, Chongxu Zhang 3 and Mehdi Mirsaeidi 2,3*. Edited by: Argyrios Tzouvelekis, Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center, Greece. Reviewed by: Esmaeil Mortaz, National Research Institute Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Iran Christian Ascoli, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Pulmonary Medicine, a section of the journal
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