Pharmacologic analyses of four chicken melanocortin-4 receptor mutations

The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is a critical regulator of mammalian food intake and energy expenditure, with receptor activation resulting in decreased food intake and increased energy expenditure. Recently, studies on role of MC4R in regulation of food intake have been extended to other species, such as chicken. Functional study of mutant MC4Rs is important in proving the causal link between MC4R mutation and production traits. Herein, we cloned chicken MC4R (cMC4R) complementary DNA and generated 4 mutant cMC4Rs (Q18H, G21R, S76L, and L299P) by site-directed mutagenesis and measured their expression by flow cytometry.

Source: Domestic Animal Endocrinology - July 2, 2015 Category: Endocrinology Authors: Z.-Q. Wang, J.-S. Huang, J.-H. Zhou, L. Shi, X.-F. Jiang, Y.-X. Tao Source Type: research