What Is Melanotan 2 and How Does It Work?

Introduction

Melanotan 2 is an artificial derivative of the alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone created at the University of Arizona in the 1980s. It is the development of the initial Melanotan peptide that was developed at the same institution in the 1980s.

Melanotan was created as a synthetic tanning agent to reduce skin cancer caused by ultraviolet radiation while avoiding the adverse impacts of existing UV blockers.

As it turns out, Melanotan was important in establishing a whole new field of receptor research, which has resulted in a better knowledge of anything from hunger and sexual desire to obsessive behavior and even autism spectrum disorders.

Melanotan 2 has been suggested in animal research to have anti-inflammatory properties along with being able to:

• Enhance the level of sexual arousal
• Increase the amount of browning or skin pigmentation
• Decrease obsessive and addictive behavior
• Modify hunger as a consequence of leptin signaling in the brain
• Limit the amount of glucagon produced
• Reverse the characteristics of autism
• Enhance heart function in particular situations.

Signaling via Melanotan 2 and Melanocortin

Melanocortins are a group of powerful neuropeptides generated from the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC). While they were formerly believed to be primarily functional in the central nervous system, a growing body of data suggests they may also affect peripheral tissues.

Unfortunately, nothing was known about these side impacts until the discovery of the initial melanocortin receptor in the early 1990s, at which point much more was learned.

Melanocortin receptors were discovered using Melanotan, which was speculated to be significant in this discovery. Since then, researchers have discovered five such receptors, each with unique features. These receptors, abbreviated as MC1R through MC5R, have the following characteristics.

• MC1R—MC1R is an abbreviation for MC1R, which is thought to be a receptor for pain sensation, evolution, and infection response. The MC1R gene is primarily responsible for pigmentation (such as red hair).

• MC2R – Regarding real melanocortin peptides, MC2R is believed to only bind to ACTH, the only one that exists. The receptor, also known as the ACTH receptor, is connected with lipolysis, anti-inflammatory actions, and several autoimmune illnesses.

• MC3R — Appears to have a function in energy balance and has been linked to obesity in certain studies.

• MC4R – This gene has also been linked to obesity and energy balance. Both the MC4R and the MC2R need auxiliary proteins to operate properly. MC4R is speculated to be involved in insulin resistance, sexual desire, and neurogenesis, among other things. According to research, MC4R has also been linked to the oxytocin-induced pair-bonding observed in prairie voles.

This receptor synthesizes sebum, fatty acid oxidation, lipolysis, and developing erythrocytes (red blood cells). Several studies have suggested that it may be involved in inflammatory reactions, thermal homeostasis, and pheromone generation. Interestingly, the expression of the MC5R gene in the brain is associated with physical activity.

However, it is crucial to highlight that the attachment of melanocortin peptides to melanocortin receptors does not appear to occur in a one-to-one fashion but rather is organized according to an ordered preference hierarchy.

Take, for example, the melanocortin peptides suggested to bind to the receptors MC1R through MC5R in the order of affinity from one to the other. Thus, the actions of MC1R will be nearly exclusively governed by low concentrations, with the impact of the other MC receptors rising as the concentration rises. However, the sequence of choice is not usually MC1R to MC5R.

The Takeaway

Research indicates that MT2 and melanocortin should be carefully considered before implementation to obtain desired outcomes while avoiding undesirable impacts. In other words, more is sometimes better for melanocortins for researchers who want to concentrate on a certain impact. If this article sparked your peptide interest, you can buy peptides and help study their unique properties for research purposes only.